Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Earl Howe on 3 April (HL Deb, GC 291-4), whether the Secretary of State for Health, in the exercise of his powers conferred by section 2 of the Abortion Act 1967, is able to lay before Parliament amendments to Schedule 1 to Part 1 (HSA1 certificate) and Schedule 2 to Part 2 (HSA4 certificate) of the Abortion Regulations 1991 (as amended) without prior amendment of the Act which gives effect to those Regulations.

Earl Howe: The regulation-making power under section 2 of the Abortion Act 1967 enables the Secretary of State to make amendments to certificates HSA1 and HSA4.

Afghanistan: Women and Girls

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 March (WA 16) on women’s rights in Afghanistan, what are the details of the funding already being allocated to tackling violence against women in Afghanistan; and what proportion it constitutes of the total budget for work in Afghanistan by the Department for International Development.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Northover on 18 March (WA 16), how many programmes are already being implemented to tackle violence against women in Afghanistan; and how many programmes focussing on the other strategic priorities of the Department for International Development in Afghanistan are being implemented.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Two programmes directly address violence: £3M towards a joint programme with Australia to improve the implementation of laws designed to protect women and girls affected by violence; and £19.9M DfID support to the Tawanmandi programme with grants to Civil Society Organisations, where at least £2M of grants from 2014 will go to organisations primarily focused on the elimination of violence against women and girls.
	Violence is also indirectly addressed through a long-term approach of promoting women’s rights, empowerment and education. DfID has a wide range of programmes supporting this agenda, e.g. £4.5M nation-wide support to women’s political participation and the £47M Girls Education Challenge fund improving access to education for 250,000 marginalised girls.

Agriculture: Common Agricultural Policy

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the financial impact, in terms of percentage of United Kingdom food prices, of the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy; and what is their assessment of the overall effect on the United Kingdom economy if the Common Agricultural Policy were abandoned.

Lord De Mauley: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) cost EU consumers approximately €16 billion in 2012 as a result of higher food prices. This equates to 4% of consumption expenditure on agricultural commodities (at farm gate prices).
	The Government does not have estimates of the effect of abandoning the current CAP programme. However studies are available from 2009 which estimated the impact of removing aspects of the CAP policies and budgets that were in place at the time:
	1) Modelling commissioned by Defra estimated the impact of phasing out direct payments in CAP and liberalising agricultural trade. The results vary by sector, ranging from a negligible impact expected on UK cereal production and prices to around a 25% reduction in beef prices and production.
	2) A European Commission study estimates the impact of eliminating direct payments and liberalising trade. The results showed a 6% reduction in land use and a 30% reduction in land prices across Europe. However the impact on agro-food production was modest and food price changes ranged from a 33% fall in beef, to just a 1% fall for milk and eggs.

Agriculture: Laying Hens

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what regulations apply to smallholders with flocks of less than 50 laying hens if they (1) want to sell their eggs to the public, (2) want to sell products to the public such as cakes made from the eggs laid by their hens, and (3) want to sell their eggs to third parties who wish to make cakes from them for resale at venues such as country markets and farmers' markets; whether the regulations covering the third category are national regulations, and if so, which regulations; and whether those regulations are liable to local authority interpretation.

Lord De Mauley: The sale of eggs in England (equivalent regulations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) is regulated by the Eggs and Chicks (England) Regulations 2009, the Control of Salmonella in Poultry Order 2007
	and European Union food hygiene and food safety regulations. Any exemption from the legislation is subject to Article 14 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002.
	1) Exemption from rules on quality and grading is available to smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens providing their eggs are sold at the production site, door-to-door or directly in local markets without any marketing indication (e.g. grading) directly to the final consumer. Producers supplying fewer than 360 eggs per week (Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance) directly to consumers or to local retailers and caterers are exempt from the requirements of Regulation (EC) 852/2004, which establishes basic food hygiene requirements for registered food businesses.
	2) Smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens who use their own eggs for cakes and other food products sold to the public as part of a regular and organised operation are required to register as a Food Business Operator with the local authority and comply with the food hygiene regulations. The FSA has issued advice for local authorities as to which operations require registration to ensure that charity and community food operations are not disproportionately burdened.
	3) There is no obligation on smallholders with fewer than 50 laying hens to ascertain what use customers will make of their eggs.

Air Quality

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in complying with the European Union Directive 2008/50/EC on air quality.

Lord De Mauley: The UK reports compliance with the limit values in the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC) to the European Commission in September each year. The last report related to concentrations of air pollutants in 2012. This indicated that the UK met both the daily and annual limit values for particulate matter with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less (PM10) and complied with the EU limit on values for sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, benzene and lead.
	Meeting the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values alongside busy roads continues to be a significant challenge for the UK and most other Member States. In 2012, 32 zones exceeded the annual mean limit value (or margin of tolerance for zones with a time extension) and two exceeded the hourly mean limit value. The UK is investing heavily in measures to reduce emissions, in particular from transport, and over £2bn worth of measures have been announced since 2011. These measures will address both particulate matter and NO2.
	Further information is available in the series of reports on “Air Pollution in the UK” available at:
	http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

Alcohol

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes they expect in alcohol consumption from on-trade and off-trade purchases respectively over the next five financial years, following the changes in alcohol duty announced in the Budget.

Lord Deighton: Changes to beer, cider and wine duty at Budget 2014 help support British pubs. The Government also supports the Scotch whisky industry for the unique role it plays in the UK economy. Freezing the duty on spirits supports the domestic market for the Scotch whisky industry and jobs in Scotland.
	The Government expects that there will be a small increase in alcohol consumption as a result of these changes to alcohol duty at Budget 2014 in both the on-trade—where alcohol is sold to be consumed on the premises (e.g. pubs, bars, restaurants)—and for the off-trade—where alcohol is sold to be consumed off the premises (e.g. supermarkets, off-licences). The tables below provide estimates of changes in consumption in both percentage and volume terms relative to the previous alcohol duty rates policy.
	
		
			 Estimated change in consumption (%): 
			  2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 
			 On-trade +0.7% +0.8% +0.8% +0.8% +0.9% 
			 Off-trade +0.9% +0.9% +0.9% +0.9% +1.0% 
		
	
	
		
			 Estimated change in consumption (thousand hectolitres of alcohol): 
			  2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 
			 On-trade +13 +13 +14 +15 +15 
			 Off-trade +28 +29 +30 +32 +33

Alcohol

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the industrially produced white cider marketed under the labels Frosty Jack’s, Diamond White, White Ace, White Star, White Strike, Three Hammers, Ice Dragon and White Magic respectively meet the minimum juice content required to qualify for lower rates of alcohol duty.

Lord Deighton: Cider made with at least 35 per cent fruit juice is treated as cider for duty purposes while cider made with less than 35 per cent fruit juice is treated as made wine for duty purposes. As not all cider makers publicly state the proportion of fruit juice in their cider, this question cannot be answered without breaching taxpayer confidentiality.

Alcohol

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether those involved in their public health responsibility deal on alcohol misuse have considered the consistency with the collective pledges of the use of David Beckham to promote spirits brands.

Earl Howe: Every organisation that signs up to the Public Health Responsibility Deal (around 650) makes a commitment to help people to drink within the guidelines.
	Alcohol advertising is governed by strict rules on what constitutes appropriate advertising and promotion of alcoholic products.
	The Advertising Codes (the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) codes) contain special rules for alcohol, which are in addition to the general Code provisions that all advertisements must not mislead, or cause harm or offence. The system is designed to ensure that alcohol advertisements should not be targeted to young people under 18 and should not condone or encourage immoderate, irresponsible, or anti-social drinking.
	For marketing other than paid advertising, the Portman Group's Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks, which is supported throughout the industry, seeks to ensure that drinks are marketed in a socially responsible way and to an adult audience only. The Code complements and reflects the CAP and BCAP codes.
	Any complaints about breach of the Advertising Codes or the Portman Group's Code of Practice on the Naming, Packaging and Promotion of Alcoholic Drinks should be addressed to the Advertising Standards Authority or the Portman Group respectively.

Annuities

Lord Lea of Crondall: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average number of annuities purchased in each of the last five years for which data are available.

Lord Newby: There is no requirement for individuals to report the purchase of an annuity and the Government do not collect data on the number or purchase value of annuities. Industry data is collected and published by the Association of British Insurers and may be found on their website https://www.abi.org. uk/Insurance-and-savings/Industry-data/

Apprenticeships

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of apprentices enter into employment with the company to which they were apprenticed after their apprenticeship scheme has finished.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We publish information on learning outcomes on the Further Education Choices website to help better inform learner choices. This website presents information on learner outcomes with any employer as well as other destinations:
	http://fechoices.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk

Apprenticeships

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to creating a kitemark scheme for identifying good apprenticeship programmes.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We want all apprenticeships to be world class. That is why we are reforming apprenticeships and putting employers in the driving seat to develop new apprenticeship standards that fully meet the needs of their sectors. Employers choosing to design and offer apprenticeships is the best mark of their success.

Argentina

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the announcement by the government of Argentina that their new 50 peso banknote will show the Falkland Islands as part of their national territory.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The British Government obviously has no control over what other countries choose to put on their currency. However, we are clear that incorporating the Falkland Islands in this way in no way affects either the UK’s sovereignty or the right of the Falkland Islanders to self–determination, which they exercised in March 2013 in an overwhelming vote to remain part of the UK.

Armed Conflict: Child Soldiers

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the use of children in armed conflict in the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; which parties in those countries they consider to be using child soldiers; and what action they are taking to co-ordinate international action to secure the demobilisation of child soldiers.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The British Government recognise that parties to conflict who commit grave violations against children, including recruitment and use, are named in the annexes of the annual reports of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict. This applies to the Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and the Democratic Republic
	of Congo. Of the five countries in question, the Governments of Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are currently listed for the recruitment and use of children. The latter two have signed action plans with the UN to end this practice. There are also non-state armed groups listed for recruitment and use of children in all the countries in question, except South Sudan. The UK actively participates in the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict to hold perpetrators to account as well as working with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict and non-governmental organisations to urge those Governments who have not already done so to enter into time-bound action plans with the UN. The Minister for Africa, my honourable friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), is leading a campaign to raise awareness and help prevent the recruitment of child soldiers and children from becoming victims of sexual violence. He continues to raise the issue with a number of counterparts in countries where there are reports of children being recruited into armed groups and forces, including in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Armed Forces: Airfields

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 25 March (WA 105–6), how many non-operational airfields the Royal Air Force owns in (1) England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland.

Lord Astor of Hever: This information will take some time to collate. I will write to the noble Lord as soon as it is available.

Armed Forces: Food and Accommodation

Lord Glenarthur: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the “entitled” and “non-entitled” rates of charges required to be paid by serving officers of HM Forces towards their food and accommodation in the officers' mess; and whether there is any differential in those charges between regular officers and officers on full-time reserve service on home stations.

Lord Astor of Hever: The entitled and non-entitled rates of charges required to be paid by serving Officers of the Armed Forces towards their food and accommodation in an officers’ mess (Single Living Accommodation) are detailed in the following tables.
	
		
			 Entitled Accommodation Charges for Single Living Accommodation 
			  Financial Year (FY) 2014-15
			  Yearly Charge
			  Grade of Single Living Accommodation
			 Rank Grade 1 (£) Grade 2 (£) Grade 3 (£) Grade 4 (£) 
			 Major and above 2,486 1,982 1,292 781 
			 Captain and below 2,018 1,602 1,040 631 
		
	
	Accommodation charges for non-entitled personnel are set on a daily basis and the rates for FY 2014-15 have not yet been confirmed.
	
		
			 Non-entitled Accommodation Charges Single Living Accommodation 
			  FY 2013-14
			  Daily Charge Excluding Value Added Tax
			  Grade of Single Living Accommodation
			 Rank Grade 1 (£) Grade 2 (£) Grade 3 (£) Grade 4 (£) 
			 Major and above 14.88 12.17 8.01 4.76 
			 Captain and below 12.09 9.63 6.16 3.72 
		
	
	The entitled Daily Food Charge for FY 2014-15 is £4.72. The following table shows the non-entitled cash casual meal charge for FY 2014-15. These charges apply to all ranks of Service personnel.
	
		
			 Non-Entitled Cash Casual Meal charge (£) 
			 Breakfast 2.32 
			 Main Meal 3.88 
			 Third Meal 3.04 
			 All Meals 9.24 
		
	
	There are three types of Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS)—Full Commitment (FC), Limited Commitment (LC) and Home Commitment (HC). As the nature of the FTRS commitment varies so does the entitlement to occupy mess accommodation at home units.
	FTRS(FC) personnel are entitled to occupy mess accommodation and pay entitled food and accommodation charges. FTRS(LC) and (HC) personnel have no entitlement to occupy mess accommodation; but have an eligibility to occupy surplus mess accommodation, and would be expected to pay non-entitled rates, the exception to this being when on compulsory detachment.
	In order to better support single Service requirements, application can now be made within their respective Business Areas for FTRS personnel to occupy surplus mess accommodation at entitled rates. To ensure that a benefit in kind tax implication does not arise, individuals are expected to meet their own food bills

Arts: Theatres

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking in relation to the safety of theatres following the Apollo Theatre roof collapse.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government will invest nearly £3 billion in the arts during this Parliament and DCMS continues to support theatres in this country through a range of investments via Arts Council England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. We have recently launched a consultation on the introduction this year of a theatres tax relief.
	The safety of theatres and other places of entertainment are the responsibility of the owners of such venues and the local authorities in which they operate. Local authorities have a responsibility to ensure that premises licensed by them are complying with the requirements of the licence, including public safety. Theatres and other places of entertainment also have to comply with other relevant legislation. For example, health and safety law applies to theatres as it does to other businesses. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and related legislation places duties on employers, employees, the self-employed and those in control of premises.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of asylum applications were granted (1) in the first instance, and (2) after some form of appeal, in each year since 2010.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The table below shows the total number of asylum applications received in each year since 2010, and the proportion of asylum applicants in the first instance that were (1)(i) granted asylum, (ii) granted Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary Leave or Other Grants, and after some form of appeal were (2)(i) granted asylum, (ii) granted Humanitarian Protection, Discretionary Leave or Other Grants, as at May 2013 when the statistics were compiled.
	Figures for 2013 will be published at the end of August 2014.
	
		
			 Proportion of asylum applicants granted (1) in the first instance and (2) after some form of appeal 
			 Year of application Total main applicants (1)(i) % granted asylum in the first instance (1)(ii) % granted HP/DL/Other Grants in the first instance (2)(i) % granted asylum after appeal (2)(ii) % granted HP/DL/Other Grants after appeal 
			 2010 17,916 16.5 7 11.9 1.8 
			 2011 19,865 23.2 6.2 9.9 1.3 
			 2012 21,843 23.3 3.5 6.8 0.8 
		
	
	Source: Table as_06 Outcome analysis of asylum applications, as at May 2013
	HP Humanitarian Protection
	DL Discretionary Leave
	The analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications are the recorded outcomes of the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, as at a particular time. A proportion of applications made in each of the years provided will be awaiting the outcome of an initial decision or an appeal. Applications from earlier years will inherently have had longer for the case to be processed than those from more recent years. This dataset is updated, in full, annually.
	There are a large variety of routes that an asylum application can take to a final asylum outcome. As a consequence, analysis of the outcomes of asylum applications in any one year requires interpretation for a small percentage of cases. This interpretation is undertaken consistently by established computer code. The proportions and underlying figures for final outcomes of the analysis of applications for the group (or cohort) of applicants in any one year, are therefore estimated.
	The Home Office publishes statistics on the outcome of asylum applications in Table as_06 (Asylum data tables Volume 1) of Immigration Statistics. The latest release Immigration Statistics October to December 2013 is available from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2013 and from the Library of the House.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the judgment issued on 9 April by Mr Justice Popplewell in Refugee Action v Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether they have any plans to establish an inquiry into the way asylum support rates are calculated.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government plan to review asylum support rates. That review will take account of the judgment and other information. The review will be completed by 9 August 2014.

Azure Card Scheme

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which (1) food, and (2) non-food, outlets are part of the azure card scheme; and whether they have plans to expand that list.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Azure Card is already accepted by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, the Co-operative, Boots, Peacocks, Early Learning Centre, Mothercare, The British Red Cross, The Salvation Army and a few small independent retailers.
	There are ongoing discussions with other retail outlets who may be interested in joining the scheme.

BBC: Black and Minority Ethnic Issues

Lord Patel of Bradford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the BBC’s decision to withdraw one of its black and minority ethnic (BME) reporter posts and its BBC UK Black weekly Podcast, whether in the negotiations with the BBC in respect of the renewal of its Charter they intend to set requirements relating to the coverage of BME issues in the BBC’s output; and if so, what requirements.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The process, scope and timing of the review of the BBC’s Charter has yet to be determined. However, the Government is committed to the issue of BAME diversity in TV, film and the Arts, both on and off screen. The Culture Minister recently met with leading figures from these sectors, including the BBC, to consider options to improve representation.

Bees

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to ensure the protection of bees.

Lord De Mauley: The importance of pollinators, including the honeybee, and their value to both food security and sustaining the natural environment is recognised as a high priority. In view of this, Defra has taken action on a number of fronts, including:
	contributing £2.5 million over five years to the Insect Pollinators Initiative;establishing the Healthy Bees Plan, a ten year plan to protect and improve the health of honeybees in England and Wales, of which five years has already been completed;continuing to fund the long-established National Bee Unit bee health programme, which includes inspection of colonies, diagnosis of bee pests and diseases, and training for beekeepers; andlaunching a public consultation on the National Pollinator Strategy this month.

Benefits

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, according to the latest data available, how many young people in England were claiming Jobseeker's Allowance at age (1) 18, (2) 19, (3) 20, (4) 21, (5) 22, (6) 23 and (7) 24; and, for each age group, how many were claiming for (a) less than 3 months, (b) 3–6 months, (c) 6–12 months, and (d) 12 or more months.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Willis, dated April 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking Her Majesty's Government, how many young people in England were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance at age (1) 18, (2) 19, (3) 20, (4) 21, (5) 22, (6) 23 and (7) 24; and, for each age group, how many were claiming for (a) less than 3 months, (b) 3-6 months, (c) 6-12 months and (d) 12 or more months.(HL6806)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics on the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance from the JobcentrePlus Administrative system. However, information is not held for all of the requested age bands.
	As an alternative, in table 1 we have provided the number of people in England aged 18, 19 and 20-24 who been claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for up to 3 months, over 3 months up to 6 months, over 6 months up to 12 months and over 12 months.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number1,2,3 of people Claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in England by age and duration, February 2014 
			  Age bands
			  18 19 20 to 24 18 to 24 
			 Duration of claim 
			 Up to 3 months 16,085 18,770 86,740 121,595 
			 Over 3 months up to 6 months 7,290 10,595 36,275 54,160 
			 Over 6 months up to 12 Months 2,360 4,765 25,135 32,255 
			 Over 12 months 65 4,255 38,685 43,010 
			 All durations 25,800 38,385 186,835 251, 020 
		
	
	Source: Jobcentreplus Administrative System
	1 Data rounded to nearest 5. Totals may not equal the sum of the independently rounded components.
	2 Computerised claims only. Information on age of claimant is only available for computerised claims which currently make up 99.8% of all claims.
	3 Claimant count figures for February 2014 do not yet include claimants of Universal Credit.

Benefits: Sanctions

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that claimants of benefits who are subject to sanctions know that they may apply for hardship payments; and what is the median time between such applications being made and cash payments being received.

Lord Freud: Where a benefit doubt is identified and the case is being referred to a decision maker, claimants are given information (verbally and in writing) about the doubt in question, what happens next, what they can do if a sanction is applied and the availability of hardship provision. Once a decision is made and a sanction applied, a formal notification is issued to the claimant, which includes information about how to apply for hardship.
	The department does not record information about the length of time it takes to make a hardship payment following receipt of an application.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what current plans they have to enhance stability and democracy in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Baroness Warsi: The United Kingdom continues to be deeply committed to enhancing stability and democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The UK is a strong supporter of European Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea’s maintenance of the safe and secure environment in BiH, and is proud of its contributions in theatre, and through a reserve company, 1 Scots. Our support for BiH’s policing has led to our contributing to establishing a trilateral Police Co-operation Centre (PCC) in Trebinje, resulting in more efficient and effective actions being taken between law enforcement agencies in the region. UK Ministers and officials have made clear to BiH’s leaders their responsibility for ensuring that their public rhetoric is not inflammatory or ethnically divisive.
	Following the recent protests, we have made clear to BiH’s leaders that they need to respond to the population’s legitimate desire for change, most recently when the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), met the BiH Presidency and Foreign Minister on 27 March. During his recent visit the Foreign Secretary met
	representatives of civil society and plenums and expressed our support to widen the political space in BiH so as to allow citizens to hold politicians to account.
	Part of our work to widen the political space is the recent British BiH Fellowship Programme, a one-month residential programme in the UK designed to equip BiH’s future leaders with the skills and experience to lead positive change in their country.
	The Foreign Secretary also announced continuing UK assistance for BiH’s path towards EU membership, in the form of new funding to foster democratic governance in Bosnia by strengthening the judiciary, civil society organisations, governance and supporting BiH’s EU accession process. Specific examples include political and financial support focused on strengthening the State Court and State Prosecutor’s Office, which will improve the operation of rule of law systems in BiH.
	In addition, the UK supports the activities of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), whose work in BiH has focused on equipping local non-governmental organisations with the skills they need to provide effective evidence for parliamentary committees. WFD has done valuable work with BiH’s Parliament to raise awareness of the value of such committees. This has influenced positively the formation of legislation and opened up the process of law-making to public scrutiny, while promoting citizen participation in the democratic process.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Plenum movement within Bosnia Herzegovina in providing a constructive and peaceful catalyst towards constitutional reform.

Baroness Warsi: The protests and plenums are focussing primarily on socio-economic issues, demonstrating the frustration of the population with Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) leaders’ failure to implement reforms on issues which matter most to ordinary Bosnians. The UK views these grievances as being rooted in a wider frustration with the functionality of the state, and as indicative of a broader malaise within BiH, which includes the Constitution. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), visited BiH on 27-28 March, and emphasised to BiH’s leadership the importance of their engaging fully with the population’s legitimate calls for change, which will include broader reforms. The UK has made clear, bilaterally and within the EU, that it stands ready to assist BiH’s leaders in implementing a wide range of changes, should BiH’s leaders demonstrate their commitment to engage fully with protesters, and summon the political will to make reforms.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the case for international intervention or guidance to assist the efforts of the Plenum movement to reduce corruption and financial irregularities in Bosnia Herzegovina.

Baroness Warsi: The recent protests and work of the plenums are evidence of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) political stalemate and economic malaise. We are making clear to BiH’s leaders that the onus is on them to respond to the socio-economic grievances expressed by protesters and the plenums, most recently in the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s meetings with the Presidency and the Foreign Minister on 27 and 28 March. We see an opportunity also for the international community, particularly the EU, to support reform ahead of October’s elections. This includes assistance through new initiatives on economic reform and anti-corruption announced by EU Commissioner Fule, and the EU Special Representative’s planned ‘Compact for Growth’. We support these efforts to develop and build popular support for concrete reforms in economic governance, transparency and anti-corruption.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to propose a European Union working-party to discuss and make proposals for assisting Bosnia-Herzegovina to draw up an appropriate constitution that would make possible the ending of various forms of international supervision.

Baroness Warsi: The challenges that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) faces are regularly discussed in the EU working group on the western Balkans. However these discussions have not focused on constitutional change. The UK fully supports BiH’s aspiration to join the EU but they must meet the conditions. We continue to call on BiH’s leaders to make the necessary decisions to progress on the EU accession path, namely through aligning their Constitution with the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the Sejdic-Finci case. The onus is on BiH’s leaders to work collectively to resolve the issue.
	Until real progress is made, the international community must remain closely engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UK fully supports the Office of the High Representative (OHR) and the European Union Force (EUFOR) Operation Althea and their work to ensure implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreement. Closure of the OHR will occur once the BiH authorities have met the agreed five objectives and fulfilled the agreed two conditions. Disagreement among the main political parties has prevented the agenda’s full implementation. The UK is committed to EUFOR’s maintenance of a safe and secure environment in BiH, and is proud of its own contributions, including through a reserve company, 1 Scots. Recent protests have demonstrated the fragility of the security situation in BiH. Therefore, it is vital that EUFOR continues to be able to fulfil its role in country. The UK will continue to support EUFOR’s presence in BiH until conditions on the ground change sufficiently to merit its withdrawal.

Botswana

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Botswana about the ban on hunting imposed on the Bushmen, in contravention of the terms of independence agreed by the United Kingdom in 1966.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The British Government have had regular discussions with the Government of Botswana regarding the situation of the San (Bushmen). In those discussions we have consistently encouraged the Government of Botswana to seek an inclusive, sustainable and negotiated solution. EU Heads of Mission discussed the impact of the hunting ban on the San (Bushmen) in February 2014 with the Minister of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism.

Botswana

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the Government of Botswana its decision to allow only the 189 successful applicants in the Bushmen’s case against their Government in 2006 to return to the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The British Government have had regular discussions with the Government of Botswana regarding the situation of the San (Bushmen). In those discussions we have consistently encouraged the Government of Botswana to seek an inclusive, sustainable and negotiated solution. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised the situation of the San communities in Botswana with President Khama when they met on 13 February.

Botswana

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the government of Botswana its decision to restrict water bore holes for the Bushmen, in view of that country’s court decisions in 2006 and 2011 and the terms of independence agreed by the United Kingdom in 1966.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The British Government have had regular discussions with the Government of Botswana regarding the situation of the San (Bushmen). In those discussions we have consistently encouraged the Government of Botswana to seek an inclusive, sustainable and negotiated solution. We welcomed the government’s announcement that it would abide by the 2011 ruling concerning boreholes.

Botswana

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have discussed with the government of Botswana its decision in 2013 to ban Mr Gordon Bennett from entering that country following his pursuit of successful cases against that government on behalf of the Bushmen.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Our High Commissioner to Botswana has raised the issue of Mr Bennett’s visa status with senior officials from the Government of Botswana.

British Nationality

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens have obtained their nationality by naturalisation.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens have obtained their nationality by registration.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Information on the resident population of the UK by nationality and country of birth is published by Office for National Statistics at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=International+Migration
	Information on the total number of British citizens who have obtained their nationality by naturalisation or by registration is not available.
	Data is published on the annual number of grants of British citizenship based on naturalisation and registration made in each year from 1962 to 2013 in table cz 03 of Immigration Statistics, available in the library of the House and at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	The latest edition of table cz 03 is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/283703/citizenship-q4-2013-tabs.ods
	From 1962 to 2013 there were 2.9 million grants of British citizenship based on naturalisation and 0.9 million grants based on registration. It is not possible to determine from the administrative data how many of the persons granted British citizenship since 1962 have subsequently died or changed citizenship.

British Nationality

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens have nationality by being born in Britain.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Joe Grice, Director & Chief Economist for National Statistics, to Baroness Berridge, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking Her Majesty’s Government how many British citizens have nationality by being born in Britain. [HL6626]
	ONS does not have data on the number of British nationals who were born in Great Britain. However, the Annual Population Survey provides estimates of the number of UK nationals who were born in the UK and who were resident in the UK at the time of the survey. This estimate would exclude UK nationals who were born in the UK but who are usually resident abroad.
	The latest estimates use APS data for the 12-month period of January to December 2012 and show that there were 54,151,000 UK nationals who were born in the UK and were usually resident in the UK in 2012, with a corresponding margin of error of +/- 321,000. The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.

Burma

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report Marching to Genocide in Burma; and what, if any, action they intend to take in response.

Baroness Warsi: We share many of the concerns that United to End Genocide raise in their recent report on the plight of the Rohingya. We continue to press the Burmese Government to find a long-term solution to bring peace and reconciliation to the communities in Rakhine State. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), summoned the Burmese Ambassador on 7 April and called on the Burmese Government urgently to restore humanitarian access to all communities in need, and to ensure the security of humanitarian aid workers and all communities in Rakhine State. Mr Swire raised our wider concerns about the situation in Rakhine State with senior Burmese Ministers during his visit in January. I personally discussed the situation with the Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, Dr Kan Zaw, during his visit to the UK in March.
	We remain in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières and have made clear to the Burmese Government their responsibility to ensure services are adequately delivered. We continue to maintain that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with immediately through a clear and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards.

Cabinet Office: Precedent Book

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards preparing the Cabinet Office's Precedent Book for declassification; and whether a target date can be set and announced for its release at the National Archives.

Lord Bates: Progress continues to be made but it would be premature to indicate a date for declassification.

Cameroon: Boko Haram

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the kidnapping of two Italian priests and a Canadian nun by unidentified gunmen in the Maroua district of Cameroon, and of the identity of the perpetrators; and what information they have of the spread of Boko Haram’s influence and activity in Cameroon.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We are very concerned about kidnappings in Cameroon, which follow two similar incidents in 2013. We are aware of the growing evidence of Boko Haram having a presence in Cameroon, and discuss this regularly with the Government of Cameroon and other partners in the region. Our Travel Advice reflects the threat from kidnapping in Cameroon and other countries in the region. We have advised against all travel to the Far North Province of Cameroon since March 2013.

Care Sector: Immigrant Workers

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which disclosure and barring service checks are required in order for immigrant workers to be employed in the care sector.

Earl Howe: The Disclosure and Barring Service undertakes checks based on the nature of the work to be undertaken. Eligibility for checks is not linked to the nationality or immigration status of the applicant. Therefore immigrant workers are treated in the same way as other workers who wish to work in the care sector. However intelligence from police sources will sometimes indicate information about crimes in other countries; this applies equally to immigrant workers as for British nationals. Checks are undertaken on all people whose work falls into the category of ‘regulated work’.

Caste Discrimination

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their announcement in July 2013 that the consultation on caste legislation was expected in February or March 2014, why it has not yet been issued.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Government is currently considering two issues which have developed and which have potential implications for the consultation.
	In February, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published helpful research designed to inform the introduction of new legislation on caste, as outlined in the July 2013 announcement. However, that announcement said:
	‘...work will also be undertaken to determine information about the extent of caste discrimination in Britain that can be used as a comparative baseline for any future consideration of the effectiveness of caste legislation.’
	We had intended to reflect consideration of this work in the public consultation process. However, further discussions between Government and the EHRC about the research needed for it have revealed concerns that not only might this be difficult to commission successfully, but it could be seen as intrusive and might have an adverse effect on good relations in the relevant communities. We are therefore considering how best to proceed with the consultation in the light of this.
	Another recent development is the judgment in the Employment Tribunal case of Tirkey v Chandok which concluded that there is already legal protection against caste discrimination through the race provisions of the Equality Act 2010. We need to review recent case law to consider whether and how it may affect the way in which we implement the legislation.
	We would expect the public consultation document, including our conclusions on these matters, to issue in the Autumn.

Cats

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the number of cats deliberately poisoned by antifreeze products each year; and what action they are taking to combat such attacks.

Lord De Mauley: The Government has not made any estimate of the number of cats deliberately poisoned by antifreeze products. Any deliberate poisoning of a cat is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 punishable by a fine of £20,000 and/or six months imprisonment.

Central African Republic

Baroness Berridge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent reports that anti-balaka forces from the Central African Republic have attacked villages in Northern Cameroon.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: UK officials and their Cameroon counterparts hold regular discussions on the Central African Republic (CAR), including the impact of cross-border violence and refugees. We both agree that the international community’s top priority is to protect civilians and stop the violence; this is in the best interests of both CAR and the region as a
	whole including Cameroon. We therefore welcome the continued efforts of African Union and French forces in CAR, and welcome the imminent deployment of European troops to provide further assistance.

Central African Republic

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to issue a new Ministerial Statement on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR); what plans the Minister for Africa has to visit the CAR; and when they last discussed with their international partners a strategy for tackling the humanitarian crisis in the CAR, the security risks, the political challenges and the case for reconciliation in that country.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), attended a Mini-Summit on the Central African Republic (CAR) on 2 April at which the international community discussed the ongoing challenges in CAR, in particular how to tackle the humanitarian, stability, security, and political challenges. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), discussed these issues with a number of key European and African Ministers at the recent EU-Africa Summit. Mr Simmonds will consider a visit to CAR against other commitments and priorities and will continue to keep parliament updated.
	UK officials have been engaged in UN Security Council negotiations regarding a new Resolution for CAR. The Resolution will authorise a comprehensive UN Peacekeeping Operation from September to help restore stability, prevent abuses and promote reconciliation and recovery.

Central African Republic

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the holding of elections in the Central African Republic on 15 February 2015 will support the development of good governance; what assessment they have made of the impact such elections will have on disenfranchised Muslim refugees who have fled the country and are in refugee camps beyond its borders; and whether they have made representations about the inclusion of Central African Republic citizens in the election process.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Preparations for elections, which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), discussed with the Head of the Central African Republic (CAR)’s Transitional Government, Catherine Samba-Panza, on 2 April, are at a very early stage. The primary focus of the international community is to stabilise CAR and protect its civilians. However, progress on the political front, including through the establishment of a strong, democratic government that represents its whole population, will be vital if long-term peace and security are to be achieved in CAR.

Central African Republic

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which sexual violence has been used by all parties to the conflict in the Central African Republic.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Reports suggest that sexual violence in conflict is widespread in the Central African Republic (CAR). UN Security Council Resolution 2149 on CAR authorises a UN Peacekeeping Operation which will, as part of its mandate, be required to help to prevent sexual violence, and contribute to efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators. The UK is also looking to provide funding to the African Union (AU)’s response to the urgent needs of CAR’s victims of sexual violence, and to track and report on specific occurrences of sexual violence. We encourage CAR to endorse the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict and to attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, in London in June 2014.

Central African Republic

The Lord Bishop of Worcester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to deploying experts from their Stabilisation Unit to the Central African Republic to enhance the capacity of institutions and communities in that country to support the survivors of sexual violence in conflict and to end impunity for perpetrators.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Stabilisation Unit is looking for opportunities to share its expertise and has been asked to provide a strategic communications expert to the African Union (AU) to support the efforts of the AU-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (CAR). The UK is also looking to give support to the AU’s response to the urgent needs of CAR’s victims of sexual violence, and to track and report on specific occurrences of sexual violence.
	UN Security Council Resolution on CAR 2149 authorises a UN Peacekeeping Operation which will, as part of its mandate, be required to help prevent sexual violence, and contribute to efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the call made by Ban Ki-Moon for funds to enable the United Nations to deploy peacekeepers to the Central African Republic.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: On 10 April the UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 2149 establishing a UN Peacekeeping Operation—MINUSCA —in the Central African Republic (CAR). We welcome this development which will support an end to the violence and help build long-term stability in CAR.
	The UK is the fifth largest contributor to the UN’s peacekeeping budget, which will be used to support the UN Mission.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the cases made by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Food Programme in respect of the establishment of a humanitarian operation in the Central African Republic.

Lord Bates: It estimated that 1.3 million people (30% of the population) are food insecure. 60% of farmers have indicated that their crop production in 2013 was significantly reduced and around 50% of livestock was either looted or lost. 94% of farmers reported insufficient access to seeds for the upcoming planting season.
	DFID is supporting short and medium term solutions to assist people through the lean season and plant staple crops to harvest in August. We have committed £4 million to FAO for the distribution of seeds and tools and to support livelihood activities such as home gardening. FAO will assist 150,000 farming households through the provision of seeds and tools. We will continue to closely monitor the humanitarian situation.
	The UK has been closely monitoring the situation and has pledged a total of £23m to the response in 2013 and 2014 and is one of the largest humanitarian donors to CAR. The UK’s assistance is helping hundreds of thousands of people and will go towards the protection of civilians (in particular violence against women and girls); to urgent medical assistance; and to food security and livelihoods assistance.

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the level of aid funding available to the Central African Republic and of the need of food of the population of that country.

Lord Bates: The humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is acute. There are critical and pressing needs in the country following the coup in March 2013. The UN estimates that the whole population (4.6 million people) have been affected by this conflict and that 2.5 million people are in immediate need of humanitarian assistance, including protection, food, health, water and sanitation and shelter. 1.3 million people (3% of the total population) are in need of food assistance.
	The UK has pledged a total of £23m to the response in 2013 and 2014 and is one of the largest humanitarian donors to CAR. The UK is the third largest humanitarian donor to CAR in 2014 alongside pledges from the EC: $62(£37m), USA: $47m (£28m), the UN Central Emergency Response Fund: $20m (£12m), the World Bank: $20m (£12m) and Sweden: $15m (£9m).

Central African Republic

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the financial contributions made by each individual member state of the European Union to the crisis in the Central African Republic.

Lord Bates: On 20 January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the EU co-chaired a high-level meeting in Brussels to discuss the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic, its implications and financial requirements. Countries and International Finance Institutions pledged a total of $496m to the appeal: $203m of this is for humanitarian operations in 2014, and $294m for stabilisation and recovery. Member States have to date collectively contributed $87m (£52m) to the crisis in the Central African Republic.
	Contributions by EU Member States include: UK: £18m; Sweden: £9.2m; Denmark: £5.4m; France: £5.3m; Finland: £3m; Luxembourg: £2.3m; Ireland: £2.1m; Germany: £2.0m; Netherlands: £1.7m; Italy: £1.6m; Belgium: £800,000; Austria: £400,000; Czech Republic: £100,000; Estonia: £80,000; Greece: £40,000; Slovenia: £20,000; Malta: £20,000; Lithuania: £16,000.

Chad and the Central African Republic

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recruitment of child soldiers by the government of Chad; whether they have raised concerns about the presence of Chadian soldiers in the Central African Republic; and whether they are part of the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised concerns about the conduct of Chadian troops in Central African Republic with Chad President Iddris Deby Itno when they met on 13 February. The Government take any allegations of wrongdoing by national armies very seriously.
	Chad is making progress to tackle the issue of child soldiers in close co-operation with the UN, although there is still work to be done, particularly on birth registration and recruitment processes. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), pressed the Chad Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki, for further progress when they met on 28 January at the African Union (AU) summit and 2 April at the EU-Africa Summit.
	Chad has announced that it is withdrawing its troops from the African-led International Support Mission to the Central African Republic (MISCA) in agreement with the AU. The UK is not part of MISCA, but has provided £2 million to MISCA to cover some essential MISCA costs including food, fuel and water. The UK is also providing logistical support to French and EU deployments and £23 million in humanitarian aid to the ongoing crisis.

Children: Mental and Emotional Abuse

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Action for Children’s proposed Cinderella neglect law.

Lord Faulks: The Government believe protecting children from harm is fundamental and that child cruelty is an abhorrent crime which should be punished. All children should be able to grow up in a safe, happy environment.
	Officials at the Ministry of Justice have been exploring the views of relevant experts in England and Wales to ascertain whether there are any gaps in the criminal law on child cruelty. We are currently considering the outcome of this work with a view to determining next steps.

Children: Mental and Emotional Abuse

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to ensure that (1) social workers are prepared to identify and intervene in cases of mental or emotional abuse towards children, and (2) social services are adequately funded to carry out such investigations to the highest standards.

Lord Nash: Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2013 defines abuse and neglect including emotional abuse. Social workers will use this definition when deciding what action to take to protect a child. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.
	To be registered as a social worker, students will have undertaken an approved course providing an understanding of forms of harm, relevant legislation and policy, and the ability to assess risks and intervene appropriately.
	Following the Narey review of social work education, the Chief Social Worker is leading work on a definitive document that will define more clearly the knowledge and skills required by children’s social workers. The ability to identify and intervene in cases of mental or emotional abuse will be a key part of the document.
	Local authority funding for safeguarding children and young people is included within core funding for children’s social care which comes from the Department for Community and Local Government’s Formula Grant and local taxation. Funding is not ring-fenced and it is for local authorities to decide how to apply their funding across the services they deliver. A report from the Audit Commission[1] published in November 2013 found that children’s social care has been largely protected from spending reductions from 2010/11 to 2013/14.
	[1] http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Tough-Times-2013-Councils-Responses-to-Financial-Challenges-w1.pdf

Children’s Secure Estate: Risk-based Strip-searching

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which establishments in the children’s secure estate, including young offender institutions, secure training centres and secure children’s homes, moved to risk-based strip-searching on 1 April; and on what date they expect each of the remaining establishments in the children’s secure estate to move to a risk-based system of strip-searching.

Lord Faulks: Full searching is necessary to ensure the safety and security of young people in custody. We have a duty to keep any item that could endanger the safety of young people out of secure establishments and use a number of measures to disrupt their supply. Full searches are an important part of this and can be used effectively when conducted on a risk or intelligence-led basis—so when there is reason to believe the young person is concealing an item that represents a risk to themselves or others.
	Following a review by the Youth Justice Board in early 2011, a new risk-based approach to full searching was introduced in Secure Children’s Homes and Secure Training Centres. All Secure Children’s Homes and Secure Training Centres were therefore already operating a risk based approach on 1 April 2014. A predominantly risk and intelligence-led approach to full searching in under-18 Young Offenders Institutions has been taken since April 2012, although there continued to be a mandatory requirement to routinely full search all young people in certain circumstances where it was considered there was a heightened risk of contraband being smuggled into the secure environment.
	Since June 2013, the National Offender Management Service has been piloting a fully risk-led approach to full searching in Parc and Werrington under-18 Young Offenders Institutions. Hindley under-18 Young Offenders Institution was added to the pilot in October 2013. Following an evaluation of this pilot, all under-18 Young Offenders Institutions will be moving to a fully risk-led approach on 5 May 2014. A revised Prison Service Instruction on searching of young people was published today and can be found at the following link: http://www.justice.gov.uk/offenders/psis

China

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to promote trade in China.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: Increasing trade with emerging markets, including China, is a government priority. The Chancellor has made £9m available over the next two years for UK Trade and
	Investment (UKTI) to increase its support in China and India for UK exporters. In China this includes expanding UKTI's sector expertise to embrace the opportunities that arise from China’s increasing urbanisation, globalisation and consumption.
	UKTI works closely with the China-Britain Business Council, its delivery partner in China. Together they provide services including the Overseas Market Introduction Service; seminars; information on sectoral business opportunities; and the Tradeshow Access Programme, which helps companies attending overseas trade shows. UKTI also runs events such as Export Week, to encourage companies across the UK to export.
	Trade missions to China promote UK expertise across key sectors and introduce companies to opportunities and potential partners. In December 2013, the Prime Minister led one of the largest UK trade missions ever to China, and Ken Clarke has also more recently visited the country with a high-profile delegation of companies from the healthcare sector.

China: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the removal of crosses from churches in the province of Zhejiang including the cities of Hangzhou and Zhoushan; when they last raised the issue of religious freedom and, in particular, the detention and imprisonment of the Bishop of Shanghai, with the government of China; and what response they received.

Baroness Warsi: We have concerns about restrictions on freedom of religious belief in China, and raise them regularly with Chinese counterparts. We are aware of particular cases such as that of Bishop Ma Deqin, who is reportedly being kept under house arrest at the Sheshan seminary in Shanghai, and raise them publicly through our Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report.

Citizenship Curriculum: Voter Registration

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to include voter registration as part of the citizenship curriculum.

Lord Nash: The new national curriculum includes an improved programme of study for citizenship education. It is organised around core knowledge about democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld. At key stage 4, pupils will be taught about the different electoral systems used in and beyond the United Kingdom, and about the actions citizens can take in democratic and electoral processes to influence
	decisions locally, nationally and beyond. Schools may include voter registration as part of their citizenship curriculum.
	The Cabinet Office has developed a resource to help schools, the Rock Enrol! lesson framework, which suggests activities for young people to discuss the importance of voting, and increase awareness of voter registration opportunities. It is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rock-enrol-engaging-young-people-in-democracy

Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to implement the changes set out in sections 45 and 46 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.

Lord Faulks: Implementation is already well underway. The point at which historic central government records are transferred to The National Archives is being reduced from 30 years to 20 years. This change is being implemented in a phased way over a ten-year period starting from 1 January 2013, with two years worth of records being transferred every year until transition is complete. This was implemented by The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (Commencement No 7) Order 2012 (SI 2012 No. 3001) and The Public Records (Transfer to the Public Record Office) (Transitional and Saving Provisions) Order 2012 (SI 2012 No. 3028).
	The Government intends to begin, from 2015, a similar ten-year transitional period for records transferred to 116 local places of deposit, subject to the outcome of further detailed work on costs and the impact to the local authority archive sector.

Contingent Liability: Nuclear Indemnity

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Astor of Hever on 27 March (WS 49–50) regarding a contingent liability for nuclear indemnity, whether, in the light of the statement in the Departmental Minute that “the value of the contingent liability is unquantifiable due to the potentially catastrophic nature of a nuclear incident”, they have any plans to halt the process and review the basis of the indemnity.

Lord Astor of Hever: It is our intention to proceed with the Contingent Liability as this work is an essential enabler in allowing the Ministry of Defence to deliver its projects and estate maintenance requirements on estates where nuclear assets are sited.

Council Tax

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have increased the minimum payment required under their local Council Tax Reduction Schemes following the withdrawal of transition funding for 2014–15.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: We do not collect this information centrally. These are local schemes, and it is for local authorities to ensure that the effect on specific groups of council tax payers is proportionate and fair.
	The £100 million transition grant was a voluntary grant for the first year only of the new system of local council tax support. We have been clear from the outset that it was intended to give councils time to transition to the new localised regime and realise greater efficiencies such as cutting fraud and error, which cost £230 million in 2012-13.
	Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year—equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration. Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work.

Courts and Tribunal Service

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government in respect of right to manage requests, what is the average time between (1) the application for a hearing at the First Tier Tribunal and the actual hearing, (2) a First Tier Tribunal hearing and the issuing of the decision, and (3) an Appeal and an Upper Tribunal hearing.

Lord Newby: Right to manage cases, which are leasehold disputes, are heard in the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber. Onward appeals from the First-tier tribunal are to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of the Property Chamber and the Upper Tribunal (Land Chamber). The number of cases received by the First-tier tribunal and Upper Tribunal is published by the Ministry of Justice Tribunal Statistics (quarterly) on the GOV.UK website at the following address:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
	Data specific to right to manage cases is not routinely published. To obtain the information requested would require interrogation of case files within the First-tier tribunal and the Upper tribunal, and quality assurance checks on that data to ensure it is accurate, reliable and in a form suitable for publication. This could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Deaf People

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they provide towards the diagnosis of dementia in deaf people and their treatment.

Earl Howe: There are no specific plans or budgets for the diagnosis and treatment of dementia in deaf people. However, it is good clinical practice to take into account a person's general health, including their hearing, when people are investigated and treated for dementia.

Deaf People

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what funding they make available to help with the provision of sign language services for the deaf.

Earl Howe: No specific funding is made available by the Department for the provision of sign language services. It is the responsibility of local providers and commissioners to make the reasonable adjustments required by Section 20 of the Equality Act (2010) to ensure that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.
	Whilst the Department does not make funding available for British Sign Language (BSL) services as a matter of course, funding has been made available for specific projects as part of the Department's Innovation, Excellence and Strategic Development Fund and we are currently providing funding over three years to the East Lancashire Deaf Society in support of their BSL Health Trainer Project.

Debt Management Office

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned any investigation into, or received any report about, possible manipulation of auctions conducted by the Debt Management Office on behalf of HM Treasury or of purchases of securities under the Asset Purchase Scheme.

Lord Newby: Any evidence relating to the potential manipulation of financial markets received by a public or private body or member of the public should be passed to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which has a statutory responsibility for regulating conduct in financial markets.
	Any investigation into the potential manipulation of financial markets would be a matter for the FCA. As a matter of policy the FCA does not normally provide any comment about potential or actual investigations or potential enforcement so as to avoid prejudicing cases.
	The FCA announced on 20 March 2014 that it had taken enforcement action against an individual for the manipulation of a government bond in the run-up to a
	Bank of England operation on 10 October 2011. The FCA’s investigation found this was the action of one trader on one day, and there was no evidence of collusion with traders in other banks.

Disclosure and Barring Service

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the average waiting time for completion of disclosure and barring service checks in the (1) standard, (2) enhanced, and (3) enhanced with list checks, categories.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: For the financial year 2013-14 the average turnaround times were as follows:
	All enhanced disclosures: 11.9 days (3,715,222 disclosures)All standard disclosures: 4.8 days (233,511 disclosures)
	Enhanced disclosures are broken into:
	Enhanced disclosures with list checks: 12 days (3,554,721 disclosures) Enhanced disclosures with no list checks: 10.9 days (160,501 disclosures).

Doctors: Misconduct

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty’s Government under what circumstances the names of doctors in the medical profession accused of community offences under the law, and found guilty of breaches of professional regulations by the General Medical Council, can be withheld from publication on the basis of data protection legislation.

Earl Howe: The General Medical Council (GMC) is an independent body and responsible for matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties.
	The GMC makes decisions on the fitness to practise of registered doctors, rather than on matters relating to a particular criminal or civil order.
	The GMC has a statutory duty under Section 35B(4) of the Medical Act 1983 to publish in such a manner that it sees fit, a range of decisions by Fitness to Practise Panels, Interim Orders Panel, the Investigation Committee and undertakings agreed with doctors. It has a discretionary power to withhold any information concerning the physical or mental health of a person for whom it considers such information to be confidential. The GMC's approach is contained in its publication and disclosure policy which is published on its website:
	www.gmc-uk.org/DC4380_Publication_and_ disclosure_policy_36609763.pdf
	The GMC is subject to a range of legislative duties in relation to information governance including the Data Protection Act 1998, Human Rights Act 1998 and the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Domestic Violence

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to combat domestic violence.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government is determined to do all it can to tackle domestic violence and abuse and bring perpetrators to justice. Our approach is set out in our strategy, ‘Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ published in November 2010, together with a supporting Action Plan. A revised version of the Action Plan was published in March 2014 and contains a hundred and fifty actions across Government departments.
	We are committed to ensuring that the police response to victims of domestic violence is as good as it can be. That is why last September, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) to conduct an all force review of domestic violence. HMIC published its findings on 27 March 2014 and highlighted serious failings in the police response. In response to the review, the Home Secretary is leading a series of measures to improve the police response. This includes establishing a new national oversight group, which she will chair. The Home Secretary has also written to chief constables making it clear that the police must make significant improvements and that every police force must have an action plan in place by September 2014 to address HMIC’s findings.
	The Coalition Government is also committed to ensuring that the police and other agencies have the tools necessary to tackle domestic violence, to bring offenders to justice and to ensure victims have the support they need to rebuild their lives. That is why on 8 March 2014, we commenced the national rollout of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across England and Wales and why we are currently providing funding for 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinators.

DVLA

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address the issue of online third parties acting as middlemen between the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and driving licence applicants.

Baroness Kramer: The Government is taking decisive steps against such websites.
	Officials are working with various government organisations and search engine providers to raise awareness and ensure appropriate enforcement action is taken. Ministers recently met with Google and as a
	result, Google has taken down a series of adverts. Similar work will be carried out with other search engine providers.
	The National Trading Standards Board will receive an additional £120,000 to clamp down on misleading websites.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued messages on Twitter and gov.uk to advise customers that gov.uk is the only official website. Officials have worked with the press to inform customers that they may be charged an unnecessary fee if they do not use gov.uk. The DVLA is arranging to amend forms, leaflets and envelopes to make the correct website clearer for customers. Officials will continue to issue appropriate communications to help raise awareness of these sites.

Economy: Deficit Reduction

Lord Stevens of Ludgate: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the reply by Lord Deighton on 27 March to remarks by Lord Myners, Lord Higgins and Lord Flight (HL Deb, col. 676) and the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 3 July 2013 (WA 143), whether they continue to consider that borrowing from the central bank is illegal under Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; and, if so, what options are available in respect of government debt and quantitative easing while the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union.

Lord Newby: The Independent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has operational responsibility for monetary policy. The MPC makes decisions on its policy tools, including quantitative easing (QE), in order to meet the 2% inflation target in the medium term.
	The separation of fiscal and monetary policy is a key feature of the UK’s economic policy framework. To use monetary policy tools to meet fiscal objectives, such as financing government borrowing, could conflict with the MPC’s objective of price stability and undermine confidence in the UK’s monetary policy framework. Additionally, government borrowing from the central bank is illegal under Article 123 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Economy: Job Vacancies

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their latest estimate of the number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom; and, of that figure, how many are (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours contracts, temporary or self-employed vacancies.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Lord Clement-Jones, dated April 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question To ask Her Majesty’s Government for the latest estimate of the number of job vacancies in the United Kingdom; and, of that figure, how many are (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours contracts, temporary or self-employed vacancies. (HL6530)
	The latest estimate from the ONS Vacancy Survey for December 2013 to February 2014 is that there were 588,000 job vacancies. The ONS Vacancy Survey does not collect information on full-time, part-time or zero-hours contracts so these breakdowns are not available.

Education: Primary and 16-19 Assessment and Accountability

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Nash on 27 March (WS 53–4) on primary and 16 to 18 assessment and accountability, how the progress which is to be measured will be disaggregated into ethnic groups.

Lord Nash: The detail of the new accountability measures has yet to be fully developed. However, we expect to mirror current practice and to publish information on attainment and progress by ethnic group at national and local authority level rather than at school or college level.
	A new web portal, which is under development, will improve access to 16-18 performance data including the core demographic information such as ethnicity which is currently available for primary and secondary schools.

Egypt

The Lord Bishop of Coventry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the independence of the judiciary in Egypt.

Baroness Warsi: The new Egyptian constitution, adopted in January 2014, states that the judicial system is independent, and allows the judiciary its own budget, and to appoint the Prosecutor General and members of the Supreme Constitutional Court. We do, however, have some concerns over recent judicial decisions, including the sentencing to death of 529 people in Minya on 24 March. Reports that many of the defendants were tried in their absence and may not have been represented
	properly are deeply troubling. We have been urging the Egyptian authorities to ensure that the rights of defendants are fully respected in all cases.

Egypt

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of death sentences handed down so far during 2014 in Egypt; and whether they have discussed the issue with the government of Egypt.

Baroness Warsi: The British Government is aware of 559 people who have been sentenced to death in Egypt during 2014, including 529 by a court in Minya on 24 March. We are deeply concerned by these sentences. We have raised this issue with the Egyptian government, most recently during the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague)’s meeting with Foreign Minister Fahmy on 2 April. The Foreign Secretary asked the Egyptian government to review these sentences as a matter of urgency and to ensure that the individuals’ human and legal rights were properly upheld. The Foreign Secretary also made a statement on 24 March in which he expressed his concern over the sentences.
	It is the long-standing policy of the British Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances

Electoral Registration

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what will be the date of the electoral register to be the basis of the 2018 review of United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies by the Boundary Commissions, under the provisions of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011.

Lord Bates: The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, as amended, provides for the 2018 review to be based on the number of electors on the electoral register as at 1 December 2015.

Electoral Registration

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether 16 and 17 year olds registered to vote in Scotland for the referendum on the future of the United Kingdom will automatically be registered to vote in United Kingdom elections at their 18th birthday.

Lord Bates: There is no provision in UK electoral registration legislation for those who are included on the Register of Young Voters, which was created specifically for the referendum by Act of the Scottish Parliament, to be automatically included in the register of electors for those elections for which the UK Parliament has competence.
	Electoral Registration Officers will be conducting a full Household Enquiry canvass every summer from 2015. Provided that they are eligible, young people who appeared on the Register of Young Voters will be captured by the canvass and invited to register under Individual Electoral Registration.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 1 April (WA 178), which entries in the MITOMAP database describe how muscular dystrophy can be caused by mitochondrial DNA mutations; how the prevalence of each of the most frequently diagnosed forms of muscular dystrophy in the United Kingdom compares to the separate prevalences for each of the most commonly diagnosed mitochondrial diseases; and in how many separate instances they have suggested in correspondence that muscular dystrophy might be treated by proposed mitochondrial replacement techniques.

Earl Howe: The information in the MITOMAP database is publicly available to be interrogated for the information mentioned in the noble Lord’s question. The database can be accessed at:
	www.mitomap.org/MITOMAP
	The department does not hold any information about the prevalence of each commonly diagnosed mitochondrial disease.
	As stated in my Written Answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, col. WA 178, a search of the department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified 128 departmental responses to correspondence received between January 2013 and September 2013, which mentioned muscular dystrophy as a condition that could be caused by mitochondrial DNA disease. However, no correspondence has stated that transmission from mother to child of a specific condition will be prevented by mitochondrial donation techniques.
	We have been consistently clear that the estimated number of cases of families at risk of serious mitochondrial disease, who might benefit from mitochondrial donation treatment, is relatively small.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 2 April (WA 194), whether any previously published research on rodents was ever referenced by the Expert Panel in relation to the potential safety of either pronuclear transfer or spindle-chromosomal complex transfer; if not, what were the reasons for excluding such evidence; and if so, why no further information could be provided in response to the previous question.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 2 April (WA 194) and by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, Jane Ellison, on 27 March (HC Deb, col. 363W), to what extent they consider that the available time between the deadline for written submissions for the Expert Panel’s third report for the Government and the notification provided regarding that deadline reflected both the importance of the subject matter and the typical time constraints of clinicians and scientists.

Earl Howe: As stated in my Written Answer of 2 April 2014, Official Report, col. WA 194, there is nothing further I can add to the information already given to the noble Lord on this subject.
	The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that the expert panel reports of April 2011 and March 2013 outline the research referred to by the noble Lord. These reports are available on the HFEA’s website at www.hfea.gov.uk/6372.html
	The HFEA has also advised that its call for evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of the pro-nuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer mitochondrial donation techniques followed the process used for previous reviews and will allow the expert panel sufficient time to consider the evidence, seek clarification or request additional information from researchers, where needed, and to draft a report to be published in late May 2014. This timescale will allow the Secretary of State to consider this update alongside the outcome of the current public consultation on draft regulations that would enable mitochondrial donation techniques to be used in clinical practice.
	The call for evidence asked for published studies, which have not been submitted in previous calls for evidence or have been published since January 2013, unpublished research or statements. As part of the review, a meeting was held on 4 April 2014 to provide researchers an opportunity to submit evidence confidentially or have discussions with the expert panel.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 4 December 2013 (WA 48–9), 6 February (WA 76) and 1 April (WA 177–8), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the calculations used to derive the original estimate that a proposed mitochondria replacement technique could save the lives each year of 10 people who would otherwise die; whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the calculations used to derive the updated estimate that 10 to 20 families per year might be assisted by proposed mitochondrial donation techniques; and in what ways those two estimates and the statement that it will save the lives of people rather than entities reflect the distinction between those human embryos that are transferred to a woman and those that perish.

Earl Howe: The estimates have been based on advice from the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University. The potential for the new mitochondrial donation techniques is based on numbers of patients currently coming forward for either pre-implantation genetic diagnosis or prenatal testing each year in the United Kingdom and, therefore, already undergoing some form of reproductive assistance. The department has no written calculations that can be placed in the Library.
	The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended, does not provide for or recognise a direct correlation between those human embryos that are transferred to a woman and those that are not and, consequently, perish. It would be inappropriate, therefore,
	to attempt to draw a direct correlation between children born free of serious mitochondrial disease as a result of mitochondrial donation and the embryos that are created to achieve that purpose but are not transferred to the patient.

Employment

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the workforce deemed to be in employment is estimated to be on (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours, contracts.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, Director, Collection and Production, Office for National Statistics to Lord Beecham dated April 2014.
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of the workforce deemed to be in employment is estimated to be on (1) full-time, (2) part-time, and (3) zero-hours, contracts. [HL6504]
	Estimates of employment are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). In the LFS, the distinction between full and part-time employment is based upon the respondents’ views about the hours they work. The LFS collects information on zero-hours contracts from a question regarding flexible working. People in employment are asked what variable working arrangements, if any, they have and to select from a list which has “zero-hours contract” as an option. The results from the LFS therefore depend on respondents recognising correctly their employment contract type. Estimates should therefore be used with caution.
	The table provided contains the number and proportion of the workforce by full and part-time status for the three-month period November 2013 to January 2014 with estimates of those on a zero-hours contract based on the period October to December 2013.
	
		
			 Number and proportion in employment in full-time, part-time and on a zero-hours contract for the three months ending January 2014 (unless stated) 
			   United Kingdom 
			  Number in employment (thousands) As a percentage of all in employment (%) 
			 Full-time (seasonally adjusted) 22,107 * 73.2 
			 Part-time (seasonally adjusted) 8,084 * 26.8 
			 Zero-hours contract (not seasonally adjusted) (Oct-Dec 2013) 583 ** 1.9 
		
	
	Source: Labour Force Survey
	Guide to Quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.
	
		
			 KEY Coefficient of Variation (CV) (%) Statistical Robustness 
			 * 0 <= CV < 5 Estimates are considered precise. 
			 ** 5 <= CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. 
			 *** 10 <= CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. 
			 **** CV => 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. 
		
	
	The answers given to the flexible working question are independent of any answer given to the question on full and part-time work. Therefore respondents can be on a zero-hours contract and consider themselves in either full or part-time work. This means that the estimate in the table for those in employment on a zero-hours contract is not mutually exclusive, as these individuals will also be included under either the full- or part-time categories.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated in the table.

Employment

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest available figures of the number of people in employment in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales respectively; and how they compare with the figures for three and six years earlier.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, Director, Collection and Production Operations for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Wigley, dated April 2014.
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking To ask Her Majesty's Government for the latest available figures of the number of people in employment in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales respectively; and how they compare with the figures for three and six years earlier. [HL6601]
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for the countries of the United Kingdom from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged 16 years and over in employment resident in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These estimates are compiled from LFS interviews held during the period November
	2013 to January 2014, the latest period available, and the equivalent period three and six years earlier.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	Additionally, the information you have requested is published each month in the Regional Labour Market Statistics Bulletin in a summary sheet containing LFS data for all regions and countries of the UK, including all historical data for these series. The latest version of this spreadsheet, published 19 March 2014, is available at
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-labour/regional-labour-market-statistics/march-2014/rft-lm-hi00-march-2014.xls
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at http://www.nomisweb.co.uk.
	
		
			 Table 1 - Number of people in employment aged 16 years and over 
			  (thousands) seasonally adjusted 
			  England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland United Kingdom 
			 Nov 2007 - Jan 2008 24,776 1,337 2,540 784 29,437 
			 Nov 2010 - Jan 2011 24,581 1,328 2,486 774 29,167 
			 Nov 2013 - Jan 20141 25,433* 1,390* 2,561* 807* 30,191* 
		
	
	Source: Labour Force Survey
	1. Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below.
	Guide to Quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV - for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220.
	
		
			 KEY Coefficient of Variation (CV) ( %) Statistical Robustness 
			 * 0 <= CV < 5 Estimates are considered precise. 
			 ** 5 <= CV < 10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. 
			 *** 10 <= CV < 20 Estimates are considered acceptable. 
			 **** CV => 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes.

Employment Allowance

Lord Haskel: To ask Her Majesty’s Government who paid for the circular letter sent from 10 Downing Street in April to businesses in the United Kingdom, advertising the Employment Allowance relating to National Insurance contributions.

Lord Deighton: The Employment Allowance was introduced to promote both growth and employment, particularly among small businesses, and its success is heavily dependent on ensuring that businesses know whether they are eligible, which they can check by visiting https://www.gov.uk/employment-allowance. It is estimated to benefit UK employers by approximately £1.25 billion for employers in 14/15.
	The Prime Minister’s letter was distributed by HMRC and its contractors and targeted c1.7 million current and potential employers most likely to benefit from the allowance.
	It cost approximately £430,000 including the cost of postage, which equates to 25p per letter and its distribution is consistent with the Government’s wider awareness raising campaign ensuring that employers are aware of the allowance and check their eligibility. HMRC agreed to absorb the costs within its financial provision given HMRC’s own responsibilities for delivering the Employment Allowance.

Employment: Disability

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training on autism awareness is offered to career and employment advisers and to Jobcentre Plus staff; and what proportion of each have been trained.

Lord Freud: All Jobcentre Plus staff have access to a comprehensive learning programme which includes a specific focus on taking consideration of individuals’ personal circumstances. This training ensures staff are aware that disabilities and health conditions including autism can affect individuals in different ways.
	Specialist help can be provided by Disability Employment Advisers who have extensive additional courses appropriate to this specialist area. This training has been designed with input from Specialist DWP Work Psychologists to enable these advisers to support people with particular complex needs. This training includes case studies relating to autism.
	The Skills Funding Agency contracts to deliver the National Careers Service in England. All National Careers Service careers advisers are required to have a recognised careers guidance qualification. This will include training on how to respond to the needs of
	different customers. The Skills Funding Agency, which is an Executive Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, maintains the responsibility for ensuring that Careers Advisers are appropriately skilled and qualified.

Employment: Disabled People

Baroness Uddin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that young people with autism are accurately assessed and supported into work; and whether they plan to ensure guaranteed access of such young people to trained careers and employment advisers.

Lord Freud: DWP is committed to supporting disabled people to find a suitable, sustainable job in their local area, and delivers support through its network of advisers, including Disability Employment Advisers. All advisers in Jobcentres receive training enabling them to support people with disabilities, including those with autism. They help people identify and overcome their personal barriers to work rather than assessing disabled people purely according to their health condition. We ensure that anyone with autism and/or other hidden impairments can access the services of the Disability Employment Adviser and will continue to do so.
	Those customers with autism spectrum conditions who require greater support have access to specialist services including specialist provision or the support of Work Psychologist services via the Disability Employment Adviser.
	As part of the “Think Autism” review DWP has been involved in a number of stakeholder consultation events at which people with autism and other interested stakeholders were given the opportunity to put forward their views and opinions on how DWP could improve its services for people with Autistic Spectrum Conditions and associated Hidden Impairment Conditions.
	DWP is the lead department supporting the Disability Confident campaign. This is a positive action campaign launched by the Prime Minister to promote the skills, talents and abilities of disabled people, including those with autism, to the widest possible business community.
	Access to Work provides additional support for individuals whose health or disability affects the way they do their job. It provides individuals and their employers with advice and support with extra costs which may arise because of an individual’s needs.

Energy: Biofuels

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what area was set aside for the growth of beet for biogas production in the United Kingdom, in each of the last three years.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much energy was produced from beet grown in each of the last three years in the United Kingdom.

Lord De Mauley: Official statistics on the area of sugar beet used to produce biogas, or energy produced from UK sugar beet are not currently available. The data below shows the production of bioethanol from sugar beet and the land used.
	
		
			 Year Bioethanol (million litres)1 Land used (thousand hectares)2 
			 15 April 2010 – 14 April 2011 68.5 13.4 
			 15 April 2011 – 14 April 2012 21.8 3 
			 15 April 2012 -14 April 2013 (provisional)3 59.9 10.4 
		
	
	1 All sugar beet volumes above were grown on previously cropped land.
	2 Source: Defra June Survey of Agriculture. UK area at year n-1.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/structure-of-the-agricultural-industry
	3 (e) Figures for 2012-13 (Year 5) are as of 15 September 2013 and are not final.
	The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OfGEM) records have identified two operational anaerobic digestion plants which only use sugar beet to produce biogas for electricity generation.
	Defra published an experimental statistics release on the use of crops for bioenergy in December 2013.
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/289168/nonfood-statsnotice2012-12mar14.pdf

EU: Applications for Membership

The Duke of Montrose: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any countries have outstanding applications for membership of the European Union and which they are; how many countries having applied are pending recognition that they have reached the level of compliance required under Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union; and whether any precedence will be given to applicants based on the date when they are recognised as having reached the compliance criteria.

Baroness Warsi: Five countries currently have the status of a ‘candidate’ for membership of the EU. Of these, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are currently in accession negotiations. Iceland has suspended its accession negotiations. Macedonia is a candidate country but has not yet opened accession negotiations. Negotiations are opened on the basis that countries have achieved a high degree of compliance with the membership criteria, including respect for the values referred to in Article 2 Treaty on EU (TEU).
	Albania has also submitted an application for EU membership. It did this in 2009. The Council is considering Albania’s application in light of assessments prepared by the Commission.
	Each aspiring country's progress towards the European Union depends on its individual efforts to comply fully with the Copenhagen criteria for accession and broader enlargement conditionality. No precedence is given to applicants based on the date they have been recognised as having reached the criteria for opening accession negotiations.
	The UK continues to be a strong supporter of enlargement based on firm-but-fair conditionality. Countries should proceed strictly on merit, with full adherence to the necessary conditionality before accession.

EU: Definition of “Europe”

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 2 April (WA 195), whether either they, or the European Union, employ a formal definition of the word “Europe”.

Baroness Warsi: The UK does not employ a formal definition of the word “Europe” and we are not aware of the EU institutions employing a formal definition of the word “Europe” either.

EU: Justice and Home Affairs

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the timetable for the negotiations on the United Kingdom’s opt-in to the European Arrest Warrant and other European Union Justice and Home Affairs measures; whether they agree with the statement made by the Presidency of the European Union in note 7519/14 that they will need to finalise their position by June 2014 so that national internal procedures can take place before the summer recess; and if so, whether those procedures will include a debate in the House of Lords on the final text of the instruments.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: As my right honourable friend the Home Secretary stated to Parliament on 7 April 2014, Official Report, col. 27, “Detailed and constructive discussions are taking place with the European Commission and other member states. The Government is keen to avoid the possibility of an operational gap that will ensue if we have not settled the matter before 1 December when the UK’s opt-out takes full effect. Our aim is therefore to reach an ‘in principle’ deal well ahead of that date.” As I stated to the House on 23 January 2014, Official 
	Report, col. 846, the Government remains committed “to holding another vote on the final package of measures that we will apply to rejoin”. We remain of the view that Parliament should be given the opportunity to scrutinise this matter fully.

Eurozone

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they envisage that the United Kingdom can maintain its influence in the European Union if it remains outside a reformed eurozone.

Lord Newby: As set out in the coalition programme for government, the UK will not be joining or preparing to join the European Single Currency in this Parliament. The UK can continue to be outside the euro and remain influential within the EU, as we are now. We work closely with member states on the key issues of the day—improving Europe’s competitiveness, the single market, trade, taking tough action on Iran—and euro area members are often our closest allies. We have also been clear that as the euro area reforms, any new arrangements must work for those outside the single currency as well as those within it.

Finance: High-frequency Trading

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they or the relevant regulators are examining the impact of high frequency trading on equity markets and financial stability.

Lord Deighton: As I set out in my answer of 23 September 2013, the findings of the Foresight project “The Future of Computer Trading in Financial Markets,” led by the Government Office for Science and sponsored by the Treasury, was published in autumn 2012. This study considered, inter alia, the impact of computer trading on the integrity of markets – principally equity markets - and financial stability.

Finance: Regulation

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidance HM Treasury has given to the Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority on the use of selective press briefing of unannounced policies or position statements on matters judged to be market price-sensitive.

Lord Newby: The Bank of England, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority are operationally independent of Government. HM Treasury does not issue them with operational guidance about how they should discharge their statutory duties.

Financial Advice: Mis-selling

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what new measures they will put in place to protect against the mis-selling of financial advice to people retiring under the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton: Alongside the pensions flexibility announced at Budget, the government announced a new guarantee that everyone with a defined contribution pension will be offered free and impartial face to face guidance on their financial choices in retirement when they retire.The Government is consulting on how best to deliver this guidance as part of its consultation, ‘Flexibility and Choice in Pensions’.
	The guidance will be designed to help consumers navigate the options available and is not intended to replace the services of professional financial advice. The government expects that many consumers will go on to seek further advice andwill ensure that the guidance equips consumers to choose the advisory service that suits their needs.
	The government has asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to coordinate the development of robust standards for this guidance and a framework for monitoring compliance.
	Professional financial advice is regulated by the FCA. The FCA’s statutory objectives and regulatory powers are geared to protect consumers. The FCA has committed to taking a proactive and interventionist approach to retail conduct regulation.

Financial Conduct Authority

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the external law firm appointed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to review its handling of its announcement on closed life funds is independent of the FCA and the firms covered by the FCA investigation.

Lord Deighton: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have announced that the FCA Non-Executive Directors have appointed Simon Davis, a senior commercial litigation partner at Clifford Chance, to conduct an independent inquiry into the handling of
	the FCA’s announcement of proposed supervisory work on the fair treatment of long standing customers in life insurance.

Forced Marriage

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the perpetration of forced marriage becoming a criminal offence later in 2014, they have any plans to increase funding to United Kingdom charities helping victims of forced marriage and honour-based abuse.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Home Office and Ministry of Justice have collectively ring-fenced nearly £40 million of stable funding up to 2015 for specialist local support services and national help lines to tackle violence against women.
	The Forced Marriage Unit has also allocated £150,000 to the domestic programme fund, which supports local forced marriage-related projects in the UK.
	We keep funding for the provision of national services under review. Decisions on how best to fund local services for victims of forced marriage are a local matter and it is the responsibility of the Local Authorities to identify any gaps in service provision and put in place appropriate solutions to address this.

Former Prime Ministers: Public Duty Cost Allowances

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 20 March (WA 52), how much each former Prime Minister received by way of public duty cost allowances in the financial year 2013–14.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: This information will be published in the Cabinet Office annual report.

Fracking

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Michael Fallon MP, Minister of State for Energy, on 5 February (HC Deb, 263W), whether the £100,000 will go to the parish or parishes in which the wellhead and associated workings are placed; and if not, to where it will go.

Baroness Verma: The UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) has stated that £100,000 will go to the local community in respect of each hydraulically fracked
	well site at exploration stage. UKOOG has further stated that the exact boundaries of the local community, for this purpose, will be defined on a site-by-site basis in conjunction with local people.

Freedom of Information

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to take into account the Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information in reviewing legislation and practice concerning access to information, as recommended by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe resolution of 2 October 2013.

Lord Faulks: The UK Government note that the recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will be considered by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in the near future. The UK Government are considering how to respond to the recommendation.

Gangmasters Licensing Authority

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the 67 successful prosecutions brought by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority since the Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 are related to “on-farm” activities; and how many were brought against the food supply industry.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: As at 8 April 2014, 69 prosecutions have been undertaken against 44 individuals and companies that operated without a licence, one company that obstructed the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) officers, and 24 individuals and companies that used the services of unlicensed gangmasters.
	A standard GLA licence allows a gangmaster to undertake activity in both agriculture and food supply. As a result, the GLA do not retain data on whether individual prosecutions related to agriculture or food supply.

Gateway and Identity Assurance Programme

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there has been an evaluation into the impact on international trade and the United Kingdom economy resulting from changes to the Government Gateway and Identity Assurance programme; and, if so, whether they will publish it.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any risk assessment has been undertaken as to the impact on the Excise Movement and Control System, the Import Control System and the New Computerised Transit System following changes to the Government Gateway and Identity Assurance programme; and, if so, whether they will publish it.

Lord Deighton: The Identity Assurance programme is at an early stage in development. The programme will be subjected to rigorous consultation and testing. Any relevant documents will be published when available.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the influence of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and its impact on the region; and what action they plan to take to reverse that influence.

Baroness Warsi: The Government continues to analyse the full range of political and militant actors in Gaza, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad. We have noted with concern Islamic Jihad’s growing involvement in attacks against Israel in 2014. We have called for the full implementation of the ceasefire of November 2012 between Palestinian militant factions and Israel.

Gibraltar and Spain

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the reasons the government of Spain has given for sending warships and other state vessels into territorial waters around Gibraltar.

Baroness Warsi: Our assessment is that unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish State vessels are a futile attempt to assert Spain’s legal position in respect of the waters. Incursions are a violation of sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar, including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

Gibraltar and Spain

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the circumstances of the incursion by a Spanish state research vessel accompanied by a Spanish Guardia Civil vessel into British Gibraltar territorial waters on 1 April; whether they consider that such incursions present any danger to human safety; and what
	naval and police resources are available in Gibraltar to counter such incidents and to secure the safety of personnel.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: On the evening of 1 April, the Spanish state research vessel, Angeles Alvarino, entered British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (BGTW). The vessel was shadowed by Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron and Royal Gibraltar Police vessels. The Angeles Alvarino departed BGTW after approximately three hours. The Government publicly summoned the Spanish Ambassador to the UK on 2 April to make a formal diplomatic protest. In his statement of the same day, the Minister for Europe, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for Aylesbury (Mr Lidington), made clear that not only were the actions of the survey vessel unlawful, but the dangerous manoeuvring of the accompanying Spanish Guardia Civil vessel presented a significant safety concern on the waters.
	Although unlawful, incursions are a violation of British sovereignty, not a threat to it. They do not weaken or undermine the legal basis in international law for British sovereignty over Gibraltar including British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.
	Maritime security in Gibraltar is provided by the Royal Navy's Lifespan Patrol Vessels, HMS SCIMITAR and HMS SABRE, and up to three Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RHIBs), all operated by the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron. The Gibraltar Defence Police have two 15 metre launches and three Arctic 24 RHIBs for maritime force protection. Ordinarily three police officers are assigned to marine duties, drawing on a cadre of some 20 personnel. Larger Royal Navy ships visit Gibraltar regularly in relation to operational and training activity, reflecting its utility as a permanent joint operating base.
	The Royal Gibraltar Police is responsible for law enforcement in Gibraltar. Their Marine Section has two patrol vessels, one of them with a small deployable RHIB onboard, three RHIB interceptors, one ‘jet boat’ and three jet skis.
	All elements of the situation, including the maritime security capabilities available to the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron, are kept under review. We are ready to provide additional assets to the Squadron or augment our broader maritime posture as necessary.

Gibraltar and Spain

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to request European Union monitoring at the border between Gibraltar and Spain.

Baroness Warsi: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised the border delays with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, last August, making clear that the Spanish checks were unjustified, politically motivated and therefore unlawful. This led to the European Commission sending a border monitoring mission to Gibraltar on 25 September. As a result, the Commission made a number of concrete recommendations to both Spain and Gibraltar and requested an update within six months. The Government
	of Gibraltar have taken action to implement the recommendations made to them and we fully expect Spain to do the same. In December the Prime Minister reminded Mr Barroso of the Commission’s commitment to review the situation.
	We remain in frequent contact with the European Commission about the ongoing delays, including on the need for the Spanish authorities to implement the EU’s recommendations. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed border issues with European Commission officials in January and February this year. The Commission has reserved the right to pay another visit to the border in the future if appropriate and we will support them in doing so.

Gibraltar and Spain

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they are making to the government of Spain through (1) the European Union, and (2) the United Nations, with regard to the speed of border checks carried out by Spain at the border with Gibraltar.

Baroness Warsi: The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), raised the border delays with the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, last August, making clear that the Spanish checks were unjustified, politically motivated and therefore unlawful. This led to the European Commission sending a border monitoring mission to Gibraltar on 25 September. As a result, the Commission made a number of concrete recommendations to both Spain and Gibraltar and requested an update within six months. The Government of Gibraltar have taken action to implement the recommendations made to them and we fully expect Spain to do the same. In December the Prime Minister reminded Mr Barroso of the Commission’s commitment to review the situation.
	We remain in frequent contact with the European Commission about the ongoing delays, including on the need for the Spanish authorities to implement the EU’s recommendations. Senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials discussed border issues with European Commission officials in January and February this year. The Commission has reserved the right to pay another visit to the border in the future if appropriate and we would support them in doing so.
	This is not a matter for the United Nations.

Gibraltar and Spain

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many incursions into Gibraltarian waters by Spanish government-owned vessels occurred in (1) 2012, (2), 2013, and (3) January and February 2014.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The number of unlawful incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters by Spanish state vessels totalled:
	229 in 2012496 in 201375 in January and February 2014

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord De Mauley: Core Defra’s Governance arrangements ensure that a full schedule of pressures and opportunities is prepared each month and reviewed by the Department’s Group Management Accounts team to ensure that Defra remains within its control totals, and each Director remains within their approved budget. In addition, the schedule is signed off on a quarterly basis by the Executive Committee via the Department’s Finance Panel.
	With this process in place we have not had to table any over-runs to the management board in the past 12 months.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Baroness Warsi: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Management Board reviews forecast expenditure each month through the Finance Key Performance Report. There is no formal cost overrun percentage threshold that triggers a review of specific budgets. The FCO Board does however examine potential material overspending each month that represents a significant risk to the FCO’s overall Resource and Capital budgets.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department of Health to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Earl Howe: Submission of periodic reports to the departmental board is simply one mechanism for effective oversight of the financial position of the departmental group. During the last 12 months, irrespective of percentage under or over spend, the departmental
	board has routinely requested a report detailing the budget position in comparison to the financial controls agreed with Her Majesty's Treasury.
	The final departmental budget position is shared externally and is published in the department's Annual Report and Accounts.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Home Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: A report showing all Home Office expenditure, budgets and forecast is presented to the management board on a monthly basis. There is no percentage cost at which an overrun is tabled as all information is transparent to the board. There have been no overspends reported to the board over the last 12 months.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for International Development to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Bates: The Department’s financial position is reviewed on a regular basis.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Ministry of Justice to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Newby: The Ministry of Justice Board and the Executive Committee review the department’s financial position on a regular basis.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Northern Ireland Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Northern Ireland Office has not established a percentage cost overrun limit for budget management purposes. Performance against budget, analysed by business area, is considered on a monthly basis by the departmental management board.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for Transport to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Baroness Kramer: The department’s financial position is reviewed on a regular basis by the Department for Transport’s Board and Executive Committee.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in HM Treasury to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Deighton: HM Treasury does not have a prescribed percentage for which a forecast overspend is tabled at the executive management board. Each month the board receives a summary of the forecast expenditure against budget and a commentary in which any significant forecast variances to individual budgets are described and explained.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Wales Office to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Wales Office’s financial position is reviewed on a regular basis, and is a standing agenda item at meetings of the department’s Management Committee.

Government Departments: Budgets

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the percentage cost over-run established by the management board for any budget in the Department for Work and Pensions to merit being tabled at the departmental management board; and how many times in the last 12 months that has occurred.

Lord Freud: Financial management information showing the whole financial position of the Department for Work and Pensions in the round is provided to the Departmental Executive Team every month. The Departmental Board also receives this monthly by correspondence and also receives a more detailed update from the Finance Director at the quarterly board meetings.
	Any potential breach of Treasury funding control totals would provoke immediate action and does not rely on reporting cycles.
	Given the range and complexity of budgets across the department, we do not have a simple percentage that would trigger an issue being tabled.

Government Departments: Catering, Hospitality and Refreshments

Baroness Seccombe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the breakdown of departmental spending in the Department for Communities and Local Government on catering, hospitality and refreshments in (1) 2008–09, and (2) 2009–10.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: As recently outlined in the Answer of 9 April 2014, Official Report, House of Commons, col. 239W, my department has cut its spending on catering and hospitality from £553,230 in 2008-09 and £456,142 in 2009-10 to an estimated £36,000 in the year 2013-14 (the precise audited figure will be published in due course).
	That Answer outlines the rationale for the current spending, and notes that we no longer routinely incur any expenditure on refreshments for Ministers other than “de minimis” expenditure on tea and coffee for Ministers’ meetings with external visitors, or on the rare occasion when Ministers undertake overnight stays on official business outside London.
	In relation to the breakdown of previous spending:
	Spend on hospitality through the department’s in-house Facilities Management Supplier was £457,667 in 2008-09 and £337,621 in 2009-10.
	In addition, I have placed in the Library of the House a table showing a list of individual transactions through (a) Government Procurement Cards and (b) other suppliers, based on electronic records held by the department.

Government Departments: Contracts

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on
	26 March (
	WA 116
	), whether Capita has delivered departmental savings and asset realisations.

Lord Astor of Hever: Wherever possible, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will look to maximise competition as a way of driving best value for money. The MoD has awarded Capita 43 contracts since 1 April 2009. They may have specific deliverables relating to savings, but these will be dependant on the requirement and will differ in each individual agreement.

Government Departments: Management Information Reports

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Quarterly Data Summary for any department does not include data for the current period, for the year to date, and for the full year forecast.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Quarterly Data Summary for any department does not include the data compared (1) to budget, (2) to the same period in the previous year, and (3) to the end of year target.

Lord Bates: In each quarter of the 2013/14 financial year, 15 of the 17 departments taking part in the Quarterly Data Summary process have provided all of the information requested. In quarter 3, the most recent quarter for which data is available, average completion was 96%.

Government Departments: Procurement

Baroness Seccombe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the breakdown of departmental private office spending on Government Procurement Cards between 2005–06 and 2009–10.

Lord Deighton: The breakdown of spend by ministerial private offices in the departmental on Government Procurement Cards for 2005-06 to 2009-10 is in the table below. There are three types of spend within the definition of GPC: procurement, lodge and corporate cards.
	
		
			  2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 
			 Chancellor of the Exchequer 220,787.69 239,967.84 141,155.09 95,124.66 94,773.45 
			 Chief Secretary 31,243.13 40,350.89 16,002.80 13,834.62 25,955.41 
			 Exchequer Secretary 10,426.42 12,784.10 15,899.54 17,146.39 20,028.14 
			 Economic Secretary 14,807.79 80,689.90 21,329.00 14,060.81 7,961.58 
			 Financial Secretary 39,163.29 28,673.99 21,654.07 46,993.19 21,031.27 
		
	
	
		
			 Financial Services Secretary N/A N/A N/A N/A 16,187.33 
			 Total 316,428.32 402,466.72 216,040.50 187,159.67 185,937.18

Guantanamo Bay

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the recent medical evaluation by Dr Emily Keram of the British Guantánamo Bay detainee, Shaker Aamer, whether they will make further representations to the Government of the United States concerning Mr Aamer’s release; and whether they intend to provide an amicus curiae brief in support of Mr Aamer’s motion for release, as requested by his lawyers.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Mr Aamer’s case remains a high priority for the Government. We take Mr Aamer’s welfare very seriously and continue to make clear to the US at the highest levels that we wish to secure his release, and return to the UK, as a matter of urgency. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right honourable friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised Mr Aamer’s case in a meeting with the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, in February this year. We are currently considering Reprieve’s request for the Government to provide an amicus curiae brief and will respond in due course.

Health: Anaemia

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to whether any cost savings and reductions in patient admissions could result from increased testing for iron-deficiency anaemia.

Earl Howe: It is the responsibility of general practitioners, using their clinical judgment and supported by relevant guidance, to arrange for the appropriate tests to be carried out on patients presenting symptoms of iron-deficiency anaemia. No consideration has been given to whether any cost savings and reduction in patient admissions could result from increased testing.

Health: Atrial Fibrillation

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will ask the National Health Service to support patients under anti-coagulation treatment for atrial fibrillation who would prefer to carry out their own blood tests at home.

Earl Howe: It is for individual clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission treatment and services for patients on anticoagulation treatment or other medications which require monitoring, as they are best placed to identify what is needed in their local areas.
	Under its diagnostics assessment programme, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing guidance on two diagnostic technologies for patients on anticoagulation treatments to self-monitor their coagulation status. We understand that NICE expects to issue guidance in July 2014. NHS England advises that it will then consider what action, if any, is required, taking this guidance into account.

Health: Cancer

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that patients in England can access innovative and effective orphan cancer medicines.

Earl Howe: Patients have the right to drugs and treatments that have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use in the National Health Service, where their doctor believes they are clinically appropriate.
	From 1 April 2013, NICE assumed responsibility for the evaluation of highly specialised technologies for people with very rare conditions.
	Where a cancer drug is not routinely funded by the NHS, patients may be able to access it through the Cancer Drugs Fund, which was established to help patients in England access the drugs recommended by their clinician.

Health: Cancer

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the National Cancer Drugs Fund shortfall on patients’ access to rare cancer medicines.

Earl Howe: We have made no such assessment. NHS England is responsible for the financial management of the Cancer Drugs Fund. NHS England has confirmed that no patient whose treatment is currently being funded through the fund will have funding withdrawn, as long as it is clinically appropriate that they continue to receive that treatment.

Health: Diabetes

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many patients with diabetes carry out their own blood tests at home; and what is the estimated cost saving to the National Health Service of that practice.

Earl Howe: This information is not collected centrally.
	In collaboration with the Health and Social Care Information Centre, NHS England has investigated access to blood glucose testing strips at practice level in England. It should however be noted that prescribing information is not available at a patient level, only at a GP practice level, so it is not possible to give the number of patients with diabetes that carry out their own blood tests at home. Nor is there robust published data on the potential cost saving to the National Health Service of self- monitoring of blood glucose. If a study were to assess the cost saving potential of testing, the study would need to compare a group that is offered an opportunity to test, with a group that is not. Given the safety implications of not testing if treated with insulin, such as risks of low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia), such a study would be ethically difficult to justify.

Health: Diet

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote a healthy diet.

Earl Howe: Public Health England (PHE) promotes a healthy balanced diet by providing advice and tools to the public including the Change4Life campaign, the 5 A DAY scheme and through the NHS Choices consumer-based information website. This work includes promotion of the “eatwell plate”, which depicts the Government's recommendations on a healthy diet.
	PHE is also supporting the work of the school food plan and promoting healthier, more sustainable, catering provision.

Health: Hepatitis C

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of hepatitis C in the United Kingdom; and what action they will take to eradicate it.

Earl Howe: The latest estimate from Public Health England is that 160,000 people in England might be infected with hepatitis C. To help tackle hepatitis C virus infection, public health programmes
	are focusing on four key areas: the prevention of new infections; increasing public awareness of infection; increasing testing and diagnosis; and getting diagnosed individuals into treatment and care.
	The Department of Health Policy Research Programme is funding research into the effectiveness of testing and treatment of hard-to-reach groups for hepatitis C as well as hepatitis B and latent tuberculosis which is due to report in 2015. In addition, a project costing £1.1 million over around five years looking at how to improve access and engagement in diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C is in the process of being contracted.

Health: HIV

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the sale and advertisement of self-testing kits for HIV becoming legal on 6 April and of the pilot study conducted by the Terrence Higgins Trust, whether they have any proposals to support a programme of home-testing.

Earl Howe: Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for funding the majority of HIV testing services. Public Health England and the Department funded the Terrence Higgins Trust for an HIV home sampling pilot which delivered encouraging results which will be shared with LAs.

Health: Learning Disabilities

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards establishing a national learning disability mortality review body.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they intend to take to inform parliamentarians and others of the progress made so far in establishing a national learning disability review body.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the statement in the NHS England Business Plan for 2014/15 to 2016/17 that it is looking towards “establishing a learning disability premature mortality review function by March 2015, in response to the National Confidential Inquiry response”, what steps they have taken so far.

Earl Howe: The establishment of a learning disability mortality review function by March 2015 is an explicit commitment set out in Putting Patients First: NHS England Business Plan 2014/2015-2016/2017. Detailed plans are currently being drawn up by NHS England.
	Following the publication of 'Six Lives', an investigation into the deaths of six people with learning disabilities in National Health Service and local authority care, the Department committed to providing regular updates and has since published two progress reports. The latest update report and our response to the findings of the Department of Health-funded Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths of people with learning disabilities (CIPOLD) were launched by written ministerial statement on 15 July 2013, Official Report, columns WS63-65.
	Ministers attended the 15 July 2013 meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability to discuss both the Six Lives update and the Government's response to the CIPOLD findings. Baroness Hollins gave an address at the recent Department of Health-sponsored conference: Taking forward the findings of CIPOLD held in London on 28 March 2014. The Department also provides regular progress updates to the Learning Disability Programme Board which are available on the GOV.UK website.

Health: Liver Cancer

Baroness Manzoor: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what Public Health England are doing to ensure that rates of liver cancer do not increase.

Earl Howe: Public Health England (PHE) has a comprehensive range of actions aimed at reducing the incidence and mortality from liver cancer. It monitors the incidence, mortality and outcomes of treatment for liver cancer and the risk factors: alcohol, obesity and hepatitis B and C. These data are provided to NHS England and local authorities. PHE has programmes which tackle unhealthy alcohol consumption, obesity and viral hepatitis through strengthening local action, promoting healthy choices and giving appropriate information to support healthier lives.
	Examples of PHE’s support on alcohol include identification and brief advice to people on alcohol consumption through NHS Health Checks and supporting implementation of alcohol care teams in secondary care. PHE is tackling obesity at all ages with a special emphasis on children and reducing inequalities. PHE leads and contributes to multi-agency strategies at national and sub-national levels to improve awareness, prevention, testing and diagnosis, and treatment of hepatitis B and C.

Health: Liver Disease

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) overall, and (2) age-standardised, deaths from liver disease there have been in (a) England, and (b) each parliamentary constituency, each year since 1997.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for ONS, to Lord Brooke, dated April 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Her Majesty’s Government how many (1) overall, and (2) age-standardised, deaths from liver disease there have been in (a) England and (b) each parliamentary constituency, each year since 1997.[HL6595]
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths and the age-standardised mortality rate where the underlying cause of death was a liver disease in England for the years 1997 to 2012 (the latest year available).
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths and age-standardised mortality rate where the underlying cause of death was a liver disease, England, deaths registered in each year from 1997 to 2012 1,2,3,4 
			 Year Deaths Rate 
			 1997 4,237 8.1 
			 1998 4,594 8.7 
			 1999 4,723 9.0 
			 2000 4,828 9.1 
			 2001 5,685 10.6 
			 2002 5,957 11.0 
			 2003 6,292 11.6 
			 2004 6,320 11.5 
			 2005 6,421 11.6 
			 2006 6,798 12.2 
			 2007 6,893 12.2 
			 2008 6,947 12.1 
			 2009 6,782 11.7 
			 2010 6,984 11.8 
			 2011 7,197 12.0 
			 2012 6,922 11.2 
		
	
	1 Deaths were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes K70 to K76 for deaths registered from 2001 on. Deaths registered between 1997 and 2000 were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 570 to 573
	2 Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the 1976 European Standard Population (ESP). Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. For more information on ESP, see the ONS website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance /health-and-life-events/revised-european-standard-population-2013--2013-esp-/index.html
	3 Deaths of non-residents are excluded
	4 Figures are based on deaths registered rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Further information on registration delays for a range of causes can be found on the ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics/index.html
	Table 2 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was liver disease in each parliamentary constituency for the years 1997 to 2012 (the latest year available). A copy of table 2 has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Age standardised mortality rates for liver disease, for each year from 1997 by parliamentary constituency
	have not been provided. This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Health: Liver Disease

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the recent report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hepatology, what measures they will take to reduce rates of liver disease.

Earl Howe: Public Health England (PHE) acknowledges the report and is in contact with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hepatology to arrange a meeting to discuss the recommendations of the report.
	PHE has a comprehensive range of actions aimed at reducing the incidence and mortality from liver disease. It monitors the incidence, mortality and outcomes of treatment for liver disease and the risk factors: alcohol obesity and Hepatitis B and C. These data are provided to NHS England and local authorities. PHE has a wide range of actions to tackle unhealthy alcohol consumption, obesity and viral hepatitis through strengthening local action, promoting healthy choices, and giving appropriate information to support healthier lives.
	Examples of PHE's support on alcohol include: identification and brief advice to people on alcohol consumption through NHS Health Checks and supporting implementation of alcohol care teams in secondary care. PHE is tackling obesity at all ages with an emphasis on children and reducing inequalities. PHE leads and contributes to multi-agency strategies at national and sub-national levels to improve awareness, prevention, testing and diagnosis, and treatment of hepatitis B and C.

Health: Liver Disease

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they intend to publish the strategy for combating liver disease referred to in the Prime Minister’s message of support for World Hepatitis Day, published on the 10 Downing Street website on 28 July 2011.

Earl Howe: Responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from healthcare services, including services for people with liver disease, lies with NHS England.
	NHS England advises that it is adopting a broad strategy for delivering improvements in relation to premature mortality. It is working with commissioners and Public Health England (PHE) to support clinical commissioning groups to understand where local challenges lie and to identify the evidence in relation to the priorities for reducing mortality at a national level. NHS England is generally not working within a condition specific framework and has no plans to produce a liver specific strategy.
	PHE has a comprehensive range of actions aimed at reducing the incidence and mortality from liver disease. It monitors the incidence, mortality and outcomes
	of treatment for liver disease and the risk factors: alcohol obesity and Hepatitis B and C. These data are provided to NHS England and local authorities. PHE has a wide range of actions to tackle unhealthy alcohol consumption, obesity and viral hepatitis through strengthening local action, promoting healthy choices, and giving appropriate information to support healthier lives.
	Examples of PHE's support on alcohol include: identification and brief advice to people on alcohol consumption through NHS Health Checks and supporting implementation of alcohol care teams in secondary care. PHE is tackling obesity at all ages with an emphasis on children and reducing inequalities. PHE leads and contributes to multi-agency strategies at national and sub-national levels to improve awareness, prevention, testing and diagnosis, and treatment of hepatitis B and C.

Health: Liver Disease

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the rates of (1) total deaths from liver disease, and (2) age-standardised deaths from liver disease in (a) England, and (b) each parliamentary constituency, in each year since 1997.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Hunt, dated April 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rates of (1) total deaths from liver disease, and (2) age-standardised deaths from liver disease in (a) England and (b) each parliamentary constituency, in each year since 1997. [HL6789]
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths and the age-standardised mortality rate where the underlying cause of death was a liver disease in England for the years 1997 to 2012 (the latest year available).
	Table 2 provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was liver disease in each parliamentary constituency for the years 1997 to 2012 (the latest year available).
	A copy of table 2 has been placed in the Library of the House.
	Age standardised mortality rates for liver disease, for each year from 1997 by parliamentary constituency have not been provided. This information is not readily available and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of deaths and age-standardised mortality rate where the underlying cause of death was a liver disease, England, deaths registered in each year from 1997 to 2012 1,2,3,4 
			 Year Deaths Rate 
			 1997 4,237 8.1 
			 1998 4,594 8.7 
			 1999 4,723 9.0 
			 2000 4,828 9.1 
		
	
	
		
			 2001 5,685 10.6 
			 2002 5,957 11.0 
			 2003 6,292 11.6 
			 2004 6,320 11.5 
			 2005 6,421 11.6 
			 2006 6,798 12.2 
			 2007 6,893 12.2 
			 2008 6,947 12.1 
			 2009 6,782 11.7 
			 2010 6,984 11.8 
			 2011 7,197 12.0 
			 2012 6,922 11.2 
		
	
	1 Deaths were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes K70 to K76 for deaths registered from 2001 on. Deaths registered between 1997 and 2000 were defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 570 to 573
	2 Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population, standardised to the 1976 European Standard Population (ESP). Age-standardised rates are used to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. For more information on ESP, see the ONS website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/ health-and-life-events/revised-european-standard-population-2013--2013-esp-/index.html
	3 Deaths of non-residents are excluded
	4 Figures are based on deaths registered rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Further information on registration delays for a range of causes can be found on the ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics/index.html

Health: Liver Disease

Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Secretary of State for Health has discussed liver disease with the Chief Medical Officer in the last twelve months; if so, on what dates; and what was the content of those discussions.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government on what dates the Secretary of State for Health met external organisations since 11 May 2010 regarding a strategy for combating liver disease; and whether they will place minutes of those meetings in the Library of the House.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what meetings ministers of the Department of Health have had since September 2012 with representatives of people living with liver disease.

Earl Howe: The Secretary of State meets the Chief Medical Officer regularly and a wide variety of topics are discussed.
	The Secretary of State has not met any external organisations to discuss liver disease since 11 May 2010 and current ministers have not met with representatives of people living with liver disease since September 2012.
	NHS England is adopting a broad strategy for delivering improvements in relation to premature mortality
	including on liver disease. It is working with commissioners and Public Health England to support clinical commissioning groups to understand where local challenges lie and to identify the evidence in relation to the priorities for reducing mortality at a national level. It is generally avoiding trying to work in a condition-specific way and has no plans to produce a liver-specific strategy.

Health: Podiatry

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in reducing the number of preventable lower limb amputations in England.

Earl Howe: Diabetes is one of the most common causes of amputations in the United Kingdom and there are a variety of mechanisms in place to support the care of people with diabetes to minimise the risk of amputations. NHS England recently published Action for Diabetes, which sets out that in many cases amputation as a result of diabetes is avoidable.
	Public Health England has advised that there is good evidence that appropriate care reduces amputation rates. Although overall rates have reduced over the past 10 years, there is still appreciable variation indicating that more improvement should be possible.
	The National Diabetes Audit (NDA) is a major national clinical audit, which measures the effectiveness of diabetes healthcare against the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines and NICE quality standards, in England and Wales. The NDA collects and analyses data and produces reports for a range of stakeholders to use to drive changes, and improve the quality of services and health outcomes for people with diabetes. The National Diabetes Audit of Footcare, an annual audit of specialist foot care services for people with diabetes, will be launched in summer 2014.
	The level of variation across the country in relation to amputation rates has also been demonstrated through the publication of the NHS Atlas of Variation for Diabetes Care available at:
	www.rightcare.nhs.uk/index.php/atlas/diabetes
	The atlas includes suggestions for improvements in care for people with diabetes.
	Additionally, smoking is the most important, preventable risk factor for peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Smoking greatly increases the risk of developing PAD and some types of PAD are almost exclusively found in people who smoke. Substantial evidence exists to indicate that stopping smoking reduces the risk of disease progression and dramatically reduces the need for limb amputation and the risk of premature death. The Government's comprehensive, evidence based strategy to reduce tobacco use in England over the years from 2010-2015 is set out in Healthy Lives, Healthy people: A Tobacco Control Plan for England. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Health: Podiatry

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will encourage the use of multi-disciplinary footcare teams as best practice in podiatry service provision; and whether they have made any assessment of the benefits that might accrue if such teams were adopted throughout the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: No assessment has been made centrally of the benefits of multi-disciplinary foot care teams. Foot care services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) working with local partners and based on the need of the local population, resources available and evidence-based practice. These commissioning decisions are informed by the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Clinical networks provide opportunities to adopt and disseminate best practice.
	The Department's document Footcare services for older people published in 2009 highlights five potential models of safe and effective foot care service provision. This includes working in partnership across the health and social care spectrum and may involve training care assistants to carry out simple foot care, to treat people in their homes or in nursing homes. Another model empowers self-care which is suitable for low risk individuals with minimal needs.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines Type 2 diabetes: prevention and management of foot problems and Diabetic foot problems: Inpatient management of diabetic foot problems, both refer to multidisciplinary teams, including podiatrists in the management and prevention of foot care problems in diabetes.
	NHS England is taking a number of actions to improve footcare services for people with diabetic foot disease. Some of these actions are in line with Diabetes UK's foot campaign “Putting Feet First” while others go beyond the suggestions included in the campaign. The actions include the CCG Outcomes Indicator Set which contains an indicator on “Complications associated with diabetes including emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and lower limb amputation”; the launch of a National Diabetes Footcare Audit scheduled for July of this year; and an NHS Improving Quality pilot project to reduce the premature mortality associated with diabetic foot disease.

Health: Podiatry

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take any actions to support the Diabetes UK and Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists’ Campaign Putting Feet First.

Earl Howe: NHS England is taking a number of actions which will serve to enhance the care of those with diabetic foot disease. Many of these are outlined in the NHS England publication, Action for Diabetes, which was published on 10 January 2014. A number of these actions are in line with the issues raised in Putting Feet First, while others go beyond the suggestions included in the campaign. The actions include:
	NHS England has produced a diabetes service specification that aims to meet the aspirational National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standards for diabetes, for clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to use if they so choose. This service specification is currently being piloted. The commissioning of multidisciplinary foot care teams with integrated community-based foot protection teams is described within the service specification. The CCG Outcomes Indicator Set includes an indicator on “Complications associated with diabetes including emergency admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis and lower limb amputation”.The launch of a National Diabetes Footcare Audit is scheduled for July of this year.
	NHS Improving Quality is supporting a pilot project to reduce the premature mortality associated with diabetic foot disease. Approximately 50% of those presenting with diabetic foot disease die within five years.
	Vascular surgery is moving to a hub and spoke model of care nationally across England. The NHS England National Clinical Director for Obesity and Diabetes, Professor Jonathan Valabhji, is working closely with the Vascular Surgery Specialised Commissioning Clinical Reference Group (as co-chair) and with the Vascular Society to ensure that the specific care needs of those with diabetic foot disease are considered in the development of the new model.

Health: Podiatry

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact on demand for NHS podiatry services resulting from England’s changing demography and health profile in (1) ten years’ time, and (2) 20 years’ time from now.

Earl Howe: There has been no estimate made centrally of the impact on future demand for podiatry services due to changes in demography and health profile. Foot problems occur across the general population and their prevalence increases in older age. They cause discomfort and immobility and are recognised as a contributing factor to the loss of independence in old age. Foot complications are also much more common in diabetes. People with diabetes are more likely to be admitted to hospital with a foot ulcer than with any other complication of diabetes.
	The Government is aware of the changing demography and health profile of the country. Currently there are 4.2 million people over 75 in England and this is expected to rise to 6.3 million by 2026, which will increase the need for all NHS services. This is why earlier this month the Department and NHS England published a joint plan Transforming Primary Care: Safe, proactive, personalised care for those who need it most, to provide personalised and joined up care.
	The plan includes the Proactive Care Programme, which will offer 800,000 patients with the most complex health and care needs, such as elderly patients, with an enhanced service including: proactive, personalised care plans regularly-reviewed by general practitioners
	(GPs), nurses, carers and other health professionals; a named GP responsible for their care around-the-clock and same-day access to a medical professional.
	The plan builds on the role of primary care in keeping people well and independent. It explains how professionals across the healthcare system can work together to transform care to become more proactive and tailored to individual needs.

Health: Prescription Drugs

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of the cost to the National Health Service (1) of prescription drugs which are discarded when patients enter (a) hospitals, or (b) care and residential homes, and (2) in the case of care and residential homes, of prescribed drugs that are discarded and replaced on a monthly basis as a matter of policy.

Earl Howe: Information is not held centrally on the annual cost or amount of unused or unnecessary medicines in the National Health Service. The Department commissioned the York Health Economics Consortium and the School of Pharmacy at the University of London to carry out research to determine the scale, causes and costs of waste medicines in England. The report, Evaluation of the Scale, Causes and Costs of Waste Medicines, was published on 23 November 2010. This found that the gross cost of unused prescription medicines in primary and community care in the NHS in England in 2009 was £300 million a year and that up to £150 million of this was avoidable. A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Higher Education: Degree Courses

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 April (WA 242), how many of the students enrolled in each of the last ten years on (1) Master’s degree courses, and (2) Doctor of Philosophy degree courses, received professional or career development loans.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: The Skills Funding Agency currently administers Professional and Career Development Loans (PCDLs).
	
		
			 CDLs 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 
			 Masters 3,639 3,849 3,853 3,309 3,930 
			 PhD 136 121 99 119 94 
		
	
	
		
			 PCDLs 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Masters 5,762 5,385 5,928 5,546 6,184 
			 PhD 111 127 141 125 97 
		
	
	Figures are financial years and are based upon an interpretation of the title of courses. Postgraduate studies now equate to around 85% of PCDLs. PCDLs succeeded Career Development Loans in July 2009.

Higher Education: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to promote the uptake of science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses in higher education.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: The STEM workforce is vital to growth and the economy and the Government is committed to the promotion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses in higher education.
	We have recently announced a £200 million investment in STEM Higher Education teaching facilities. Higher Education Institutions (HEI) will be required to match that funding, so that will see at least £400 million of investment in FY 15-16 that will support a growth in the number of students that can be taught on the latest equipment to make them ready for the world of work.
	Higher Education Institutions have been allocated an additional £185m through HEFCE over four years to recognise the extra costs of teaching subjects such as science and engineering.
	The key to increasing the number of students studying STEM subjects in higher education is to ensure that the STEM pipeline is stimulated with new students coming through from school level.
	The department for business (BIS) funds STEMNET to run the STEM Ambassadors programme. This is a nationwide network of over 27,000 DBS-checked volunteers from science, engineering and technical companies or academia, who work with schools across the UK. The STEM Ambassadors both raise awareness amongst children of the range of careers that science and technical qualifications offer and provide stimulating scientific activities to increase their interest in STEM subjects. 84% of teachers think that STEMNET Ambassador activity improved the students' awareness of STEM careers
	National Science and Engineering Week is funded by BIS and is a ten day programme of science, engineering and technology events and activities across the UK aimed at people of all ages. Last year it attracted about 1.6 million participants who took part in over 4,000 events across the country.
	BIS also funds the National Science and Engineering Competition, whose finals take place at the annual Big Bang Fair, selecting the UK Young Scientist of the Year and UK Young Engineer of the Year from about 300 projects.

Higher Education: Student Loans

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 26 March (HL Deb, col. 528), what is the total current amount of student loans; what is the amount and percentage written off to date; and whether the amount of £160 million paid by the purchaser was the same as the amount written off.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The face value of the Department for Business (BIS) student loan book at 31 March 2013 (prior to the sale of the mortgage style book) was £46 billion. The carrying value, after allowing for impairments set aside for write-off and interest subsidy, was £31 billion.
	The £160 million purchase price for the mortgage style loan book represented good value for money for the taxpayer, with the purchase price exceeding the value of retention to Government. Unlike the income contingent loans book, the mortgage style book is an old, closed portfolio whose value is deteriorating. Most borrowers repaying their loans on schedule have fully repaid by now. The vast majority of the loans sold are those where borrowers are currently not meeting their obligations under the terms of the loan agreement, or who are earning below the deferment threshold and so at present have no obligation to repay under the terms of the loans.

Hitachi

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 7 April (HL6246), whether any of the discussions with Hitachi touched upon the question of the United Kingdom remaining in the European single market.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: The Government is committed to the UK maintaining its position as a full and active member of the EU and the Single Market.
	Discussions with Hitachi took place based on the bilateral assumption that the United Kingdom would remain in the single market.

HMRC: Gift Aid

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether HM Revenue and Customs keeps records of the amount of Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, attractions in respect of qualifying admission fees paid to view charity property; and, if so, in what form the records are kept.

Lord Deighton: HM Revenue and Customs does not collect information about Gift Aid claimed by, or paid to, charities in respect of admission fees to view charity property, except for charities subject to enquiry. It would be administratively burdensome for charities to routinely provide a detailed breakdown of their income with every Gift Aid claim they make.

Homeless People

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 30 January (WA 253), whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the terms of reference of the review being carried out by Social Finance into innovative models of providing temporary accommodation for homeless families.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: I have placed a copy of the terms of reference contained within the Social Finance contract in the Library of the House. The final report will be published in due course, and I will write to the noble Baroness with a copy when it is available.

Homeless People

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have been recognised as homeless in each local authority area of England and Wales as a result of mental health problems in each of the last three years.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: A table containing the requested information for England has been placed in the Library of the House; to assist public scrutiny, I have included data from 2003 to 2013. The table shows there were 4,480 homeless people due to a mental illness/disability in England in 2013, compared to 12,040 in 2003; it also shows the average level in England under this Government is far less than the average rate under the last Administration.
	This Government has invested £470 million in England to prevent and tackle all forms of homelessness over the spending review period. The homelessness legislation in England provides one of the strongest safety nets in the world. The law ensures that people who are vulnerable as a result of old age, mental illness or handicap or physical disability will have priority need for accommodation if they become homeless through no fault of their own.
	Data on homelessness outside England are a matter for the devolved Administrations

Homosexuality

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the extent of the use of reparative or conversion therapy on homosexual men and women; and what is their policy towards it.

Earl Howe: We have made no estimate of the extent of the use of reparative or conversion therapies on gay people. This Government does not believe that being lesbian, gay or bisexual is an illness to be treated or cured. We are therefore strongly against the practice of so called ‘reparative' or ‘conversion' therapy.

Housing

Lord Whitty: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what schemes they have introduced or modified since May 2010 to encourage residential home building or purchase; and what was the approximate number of new build homes as a result of each of those schemes.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The Coalition Government has put in place a range of measures to get Britain building again, fix the broken housing market and help hard-working people get the home they want.
	Action taken includes wide-ranging planning reform through National Planning Policy Framework; introducing self-financing for stock holding local authorities; new incentives to deliver housing growth through the New Homes Bonus; as well as the Government’s broader long-term economic plan to tackle the deficit left by the last Administration and keep interest rates down. I would note:
	we have already delivered 420,000 new homes since 2010;new orders in residential construction have risen to their highest level since 2007 according to the Office for National Statistics;housing starts are at their highest since 2007 according to DCLG figures;the number of first-time buyers is at its highest since 2007 according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders; repossessions are at their lowest since 2007, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders; andnew home registrations rose by 30% in 2013 in England, the highest since 2007, and are up 60% in London, according to the NHBC.
	In relation to specific programmes:
	Affordable housing
	Over 170,000 affordable homes have been delivered in England since April 2010.
	Our Affordable Homes Programme will deliver 170,000 homes over the current spending review period (2011-2015) levering in £19.5 billion of public and private funding. We have announced a new “Affordable Rent to Buy” scheme which will deliver affordable homes through a recoverable fund. The new Affordable Homes Programme for the next spending period will lever in up to £23 billion in public and private funding to deliver 165,000 homes from 2015 to 2018.
	The Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme is worth up to £3.5 billion (with further lending capacity held in reserve according to demand) and supported by up to £450 million grant funding in England. Up to 30,000 additional affordable homes will be under way by December 2017. Affordable Housing Finance plc was awarded the licence for the Affordable Housing Guarantee Scheme in June 2013. The first eight housing associations to be approved to borrow through the scheme were announced in January 2014, which will raise over £400 million of debt to facilitate the delivery of over 4,000 new affordable homes. We also announced a European Investment Bank loan facility worth £500 million. More borrowers will follow.
	The Right to Buy Scheme, allowing eligible social tenants to buy their homes at a discount, has achieved almost 24,000 sales since April 2010, with the majority (16,200) since we reinvigorated the scheme in 2012. A total of 2,845 council properties were sold between October and December last year, a 42% increase on the same period in 2012. The reinvigorated Right to Buy ensures, for the first time, that the receipts from the additional sales, that is those over what was forecast prior to the change, are reinvested in helping to fund new homes for affordable rent. So far, £300 million has been generated from additional sales and already over 2000 homes have been started on site or acquired since April 2012.
	Self-financing for local authorities
	In 2012 the Government reformed the council house finance system, introducing self-financing for those local authorities that still own and manage their own housing. This system of self-financing has given local authorities greater freedoms and flexibilities to manage their housing and many are now starting to use those freedoms to build new council housing.
	To further increase the supply of housing locally, the Government has made available £300 million of additional Housing Revenue Account borrowing as part of the Local Growth Fund to help those authorities that need additional borrowing and want to deliver new affordable homes quickly. We are looking to local authorities, who need additional borrowing, to bid for that increase by 16 June 2014 and for schemes that would help to deliver 10,000 new affordable homes.
	Home ownership schemes (Help to Buy)
	Since April 2013, the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has offered buyers a 20% equity loan that can be used towards the cost of buying a new build homes, allowing people to buy with a 5% deposit. There were over 30,000 reservations and 19,394 completed loans across England by the end of March 2014, with funding for up to 74,000 sales by March 2016. Alongside this, the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme has also supported a further 5,173 households to purchase new build homes by the end of March 2014. The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme was extended through the 2014 Budget announcement to 2020 to help 120,000 more households purchase a new build home.
	The FirstBuy scheme was announced in the Budget 2011 to help support 10,000 first-time buyers on the property ladder. The scheme was replaced in April 2013
	with Help to Buy. There were 11,522 FirstBuy sales to the end of 2013; moving forward, this is now effectively part of Help to Buy.
	Since the end of last year, the Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee scheme is providing up to £12 billion of government guarantees to support people to buy with a 5% deposit. Over 2,500 homes have (by the end of January 2014) been bought through this route. The three Help to Buy schemes complement each other, and their success can be taken in the whole.
	Private rented sector
	The £1 billion Build to Rent programme, which provides development phase finance, is supporting new high-quality development purpose built for private rent and is on track to create up to 10,000 new homes. The programme received £1.4 billion of bids under Round One—this round of funding is currently expected to support 15 developments which will provide nearly 2,600 homes across England in locations which presently include Durham, Liverpool, Manchester and London. Five contracts to the combined value of over £74.5 million have already been agreed which will deliver over 1,000 new homes for private rent; construction has already started in Southampton (Centenary Quay) and Manchester (Three Towers). More contracts will follow.
	Bidding for Round Two of the Build to Rent Fund was significantly oversubscribed receiving 126 bids to the value of around £3 billion. Thirty-six projects on the shortlist from Round Two are now going through a competitive due diligence process, with successful bids receiving funding to deliver thousands of new homes. A list of all shortlisted bids has been placed in the Library. The shortlist is over-programmed, meaning not all shortlisted projects will receive funding. Shortlisting and due diligence are the first stages of the Build to Rent approval process. The Homes and Communities Agency will continue to work with bidders until exchange of contracts in order to ensure value for money for taxpayers.
	In addition to direct funding, the Government’s Private Rented Sector Taskforce is continuing to build the private rented sector as an investment market and have identified £10 billion of domestic and foreign investment available in the private rented sector.
	The Private Rented Sector Guarantees scheme will provide a government guarantee for up to £3.5 billion debt (plus an additional amount held in reserve) for borrowers investing in new build private rented sector homes across the UK. The guarantees will use the UK Government’s hard earned fiscal credibility to help lower the cost of borrowing and incentivise investment in the sector. DCLG is open for business to issue direct guarantees and is actively discussing potential applications with a number of borrowers looking to invest in large-scale developments. On 18 March, we also launched a procurement inviting bids from the market to be our delivery partner for Private Rented Sector Housing Debt Guarantees, with the aim of maximising take up of guarantees including for small and medium enterprises. My department will be evaluating bids to perform the role in due course.
	Infrastructure and development finance
	The Get Britain Building investment fund has been provided over £500 million of finance to unlock smaller stalled sites. As at February 2014, it has helped kick-start 11,893 new homes on stalled sites.
	The Growing Places Fund is providing £770 million to deliver the infrastructure needed to unlock stalled schemes that will promoted economic growth, create jobs and build homes. The fund has been fully allocated to Local Enterprise Partnerships and the devolved Administrations to fund local projects. Progress updates in June 2013 reported that £652 million of capital funding had been allocated to 305 projects across England. Local Enterprise Partnerships expect these projects to create 4,900 businesses, 94,000 jobs and 27,000 houses. A further update will be published in due course.
	The £474 million Local Infrastructure Fund is helping to unlock large-scale housing developments. To date, we have unlocked 15 sites capable of delivering almost 80,000 homes through a combination of financial and non-financial support. We are currently working to unlock a further 13 stalled schemes to deliver up to 40,000 new homes. In addition to the capital investment, we have made available £13 million of capacity funding to support local authorities in fulfilling their local housing ambitions.
	The 2013 Autumn Statement also announced a further £1 billion to unlock development on large housing sites and a prospectus inviting bids was published on 14 April. During the Easter Recess, we also published the Local Growth Fund (Housing Infrastructure) prospectus. This sets out the detail on how to access the £50 million part of the Local Growth Fund in 2015-16. It is designed to help speed up and restart housing developments between 250 and 1,499 units that have slowed down or stalled.
	The 2014 Budget announced further funding for driving up housing supply including a £525 million Builders Finance Fund to provide development finance for small sites to support the construction of 15,000 new homes; the prospectus has also recently been published.
	The Budget announced the intention to create an Urban Development Corporation for the Ebbsfleet area to accelerate the construction of a garden- city style development which will unlock up to 15,000 homes—with up to £200 million capital being made available. We have also published a prospectus to support further locally led garden cities.
	A new Estate Regeneration Fund of £150 million of recoverable investment will help kick-start and accelerate the regeneration of some of our most deprived estates. We will also work with the Greater London Authority to support the regeneration of Brent Cross and unlock 11,000 homes at Barking Riverside.
	We have also taken steps to scale back economically unrealistic Section 106 agreements, such as from the last Administration’s housing bubble, which result in no housing development, no regeneration and no community benefits.
	Self-build
	The £30 million investment fund for Custom Build Homes is currently assessing loan funding of £22.6 million with the potential to deliver 270 homes. At the 2014 Budget, we announced that the Government will consult on a new “Right to Build” to give self-builders a right to a plot from councils, a new £150 million investment fund to help provide up to 10,000 serviced building plots, and announced will we look to extend Help to Buy equity loan to custom builders. We have also exempted self-build from the Community Infrastructure Levy and we are consulting on a similar policy change for Section 106 tariffs.
	Empty homes
	This Government has provided £235 million of funding which aims to bring up to 12,000 homes back into use by March 2015. This is part of a wider package of measures to get empty property back into productive use, in contrast to the last Administration’s policy of wholesale demolition. The numbers of empty homes in England have fallen to a 10-year low, and the number of long-term vacant properties has fallen by around a third since 2009.
	Public sector land
	The Public Sector Land Programme has identified land with capacity for over 100,000 homes which we aim to release to the private sector by March 2015. At the end of December 2013, we had released land capable of delivering 68,000 homes to be built.
	Through the Strategic Land and Property Review we have identified scope to generate £5 billion of receipts from government land and property between 2015 and 2020. This will put land and property into the hands of those who can exploit them for commercial purposes, creating opportunities for housing and economic development.
	This was part of a series of measures to support brownfield development, as outlined in more detail in the Answer of 3 April 2014, Official Report, House of Commons, col. 780W.
	Improving the home buying process
	To help reduce costs for buying a home, we have scrapped the last Administration’s Home Information Packs which duplicated costs and were not trusted by buyers.
	There is more to do, but I hope this illustrates how this Government’s long-term economic plan is helping build more houses, help people move on and up the housing ladder and clean up the mess left by the last Administration.

Housing

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much income from capital receipts from sales under the Right to Buy scheme has been paid to HM Treasury by local authorities in each year since 2010-11.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The table below answers the noble Baroness’s question:
	
		
			 Financial Year Receipts arising in that year1 from Right to Buy sales (or equivalents)2 which are payable to HM Treasury (£ million)3 
			 2010-20114 114.4 
			 2011-2012 138.9 
			 2012-2013 123.6 
			 April 2013-December 2014 120.85 
		
	
	Notes
	1 Figures include the payable part of mortgage repayments and repayments of discounts paid in the current year in respect of Right to Buy sales made in previous years.
	2 For 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, figures include the payable part of receipts arising from all other disposals of dwellings. For 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, figures only include receipts arising from sales of dwellings to secure tenants which are below market value and some shared ownership sales.
	3 All figures are provisional, though those for all years up to 2012-2013 have been audited which means that they are less likely to be amended.
	4 Until the end of 2010-2011, receipts received by authorities which were debt-free on 31 March 2004 were payable not to HM Treasury but to the Department of Communities and Local Government and its predecessor departments.
	5 The figure for 2013-2014 is only for the first three quarters of that year.
	For 2009-2010, receipts arising from the sale of dwellings received by local authorities that were not debt-free that were paid to HM Treasury amounted to £132.7 million. For 2008-2009, the equivalent figure was £135.9 million.
	The reinvigoration of Right to Buy since April 2012 has ensured, for the first time ever, that the receipts from the additional sales (those over what was forecast prior to the change) are reinvested to help fund new homes for affordable rent. So far, £300 million has been generated from additional sales and already over 2,000 homes have been started on site or acquired.

Housing

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to help young people buy their own homes.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: This Government is committed to supporting people’s aspirations to own their own home. That is why we have introduced schemes such as Help to Buy Equity Loan and Mortgage Guarantee, and reinvigorated Right to Buy. Since the spring of 2010, these, together with our affordable housing schemes have helped or are helping nearly 112,000 people to buy a home of their own. Since April 2010, 420,000 homes have been built, with new housing construction output now at its highest level since 2007.

Housing: Flood Risk

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Answer by Nick Boles MP, Under Secretary of State for Planning, on 10 February
	(HC Deb, 418W–419W), whether the reference to the requirement to demonstrate that a proposed development will not increase the flood risk elsewhere refers to the risk in both urban and rural areas.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Yes, the strict tests on flood risk set out in national planning policy apply to rural and urban areas. These tests include ensuring new development does not increase flood risk elsewhere. In the new planning guidance we launched on 6 March we have made it crystal clear that councils need to consider these tests and where they are not met new development should not be allowed.

Housing: Help to Buy

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people have (1) applied for, and (2) been granted, help through (a) the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, and (b) the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, in each of the 10 districts of Greater Manchester.

Lord Newby: On 23 March, the Prime Minister announced that 2,572 mortgages were supported by the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme in its first four months; 342 of these were in the north-west. The Government do not generally collect data on the number of applications participating lenders receive for mortgages supported by the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme. However, as a single submission to the Government, two of the largest lenders in the scheme, Lloyds and RBS, have said they received 9,569 applications, and one of the smallest lenders in the scheme, Aldermore, received 2,313 applications.
	Now the scheme is open, the Government are collecting data on mortgages covered by the guarantee, and will report in due course.
	b) The Government publish monthly statistics on the cumulative number of homes purchased (legal completions), with the support of Help to Buy equity loans, by local authority in England. The data can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics.

Housing: Private Rented Sector

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 18 March (WA 24), whether they decided against appointing a representative of private tenants on the Private Rented Sector Taskforce; and if so, why.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: As I explained in my previous answer, the Taskforce is a technical advisory group to provide professional and expert knowledge on increasing institutional investment in the private rented sector and support new build schemes.
	It does not have any remit on broader policy on the private rented sector. It does not seek to ‘represent’ the views of any sector or group. The determination of government policy remains a matter for Ministers.
	Notwithstanding, the Taskforce has engaged with organisations representing private tenants and the broader private rented sector.

Human Rights: Shell and Rio Tinto

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were their reasons for intervening in proceedings in the United States Supreme Court regarding alleged liability by Shell and Rio Tinto for abuses of human rights in Nigeria and Papua New Guinea; and whether those companies requested Her Majesty’s Government to intervene on their behalf.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The UK intervened in both these cases (Kiobel v Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum and Rio Tinto v Sarei) to clarify our position on the proper limits of the extraterritorial application of US law. The amicus brief submitted by the UK was confined to our views on this point of international law, and did not take a position on the allegations made against the defendants in this case. The views expressed were consistent with long-standing UK policy.
	The UK strongly supports the promotion of business and human rights and was the first country to produce a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles. We have consistently made clear that we expect British companies to act in accordance with human rights wherever they operate, and that companies should not be able to act with impunity. States should enact domestic law to regulate the activity of businesses to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on human rights. We believe it appropriate and desirable for a State to provide remedies for human rights victims where human rights abuses are committed by their nationals (including corporate nationals) overseas.
	Rio Tinto wrote to the British Government in November 2011 requesting that the Government intervene in their case in view of our stance on extraterritoriality. After considering the points of law that the case raised, we considered that submitting a brief would be appropriate. The Shell case was brought to our attention by a third party and again we objected because there was little, or no, connection between the corporate defendant and the US. Officials discussed the case with the company after we had made the decision to intervene. The Government initially submitted a brief in support of Shell in the Kiobel vs Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum case because we were not advised that a neutral brief was a possibility. As soon as we became
	aware, we replaced our original brief with a neutral brief, as the best way of representing our wider legal concerns without taking a position on the specific allegations in this case.

Immigration Bill

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children they estimate will be affected by the provisions contained in Clause 18 of the Immigration Bill.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Clause 18 (which is now Clause 19) of the Immigration Bill will be relevant to all immigration and deportation decisions engaging the right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including where a child is the applicant or is a family member of the applicant or of the person facing deportation. Careful regard has been had to the best interests of children in the UK in framing the Clause, in line with the children’s duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, but we have made no broader assessment of the number of children who will be affected.

Immigration Bill

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an assessment of the number of children likely to be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Our starting point is that it is generally in the best interests of the child to remain with their parents, including where the parents are removed from the UK. We have therefore made no assessment of the number of children who might be separated from their parents as a result of the provisions of the Immigration Bill.

Immigration Bill

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out an assessment of the impact of the Immigration Bill on children, as set out in the Cabinet Office guidelines.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Home Office is committed to considering the impact of all new policies and legislation, including where they might have an impact on children. Careful regard has been had to the best interests of children in the UK in framing the provisions of the Immigration Bill. We are satisfied that the Bill is compatible with our obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and with the children’s duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. The Home Office has published an Impact Assessment of the Immigration Bill and a European Convention on Human Rights Memorandum, so has no plans to conduct any additional child impact assessment.

Immigration: Detention

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, at the latest date, how many immigration detainees were being held in HM prisons; how many foreign national offenders, whose sentences had already expired but who had not been deported were being held; and what assessment they have made of the impact of such persons on the rehabilitation of British prisoners.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: For the week commencing 31 March, there were 720 immigration detainees in prisons.
	Please note that the data includes a small number of individuals who have never served a custodial sentence, but who present specific risk factors that indicate they pose a serious risk of harm to the public or to the good order of an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) including the safety of staff and other detainees, which cannot be managed within the regime applied in IRCs.
	To extract this small number of cases would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Foreign national offenders held in prisons beyond the end of their sentence under immigration powers are normally held in unconvicted conditions. Their presence in these prisons does not affect the rehabilitation of British nationals whose access to accredited interventions and other rehabilitation services is governed by risk of offending and offender-related need.

Imports and Exports

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any guarantee that the current levels of service and functionality provided by the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight System are to be provided in any replacement system.

Lord Deighton: Our plans for the future replacement of the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system are that service levels and functionality should be equal to or better than those provided in the current system. This will be a requirement within the “Invitation to Tender” that HMRC issues in respect of the procurement process for a new import and export declaration processing system.

Income: Household Averages

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the average annual household income in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, Director, Collection and Production, Office for National Statistics to Lord Bradley dated April 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office of National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Her Majesty’s Government what was the average annual household income in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester in each of the last ten years. (HL6598)
	Table 1 shows estimates of the average annual net equivalised household income for the ten districts of Greater Manchester, for the financial years 2004/05 and 2007/08. These are the only figures which are available at this level of geography over the last ten years, and are derived from the small area income estimates published by ONS. Between 2001/02 and 2007/08 small area income estimates were produced on a triennial basis. The next planned estimates are due to be published in late-2014 covering the period 2011/12, and will make use of data from the 2011 Census.
	The income figures presented in the table are equivalised to account for different household sizes and compositions, and so give a more consistent indication of households’ material standard of living.
	The small area income estimates, as with any model-based estimates, are subject to margins of error. This, in addition to small differences in the modelling processes used in 2004/05 and 2007/08, mean that changes in income between the two years should be interpreted with caution.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average annual net equivalised household income in each of the ten districts of Greater Manchester 2004/05 and 2007/08 1, 2, 3 
			  £ per year £ per year £ per year 
			  2004/05 (in 2004/05 prices) 2004/05 (in 2007/08 prices) 2007/08 (in 2007/08 prices) 
			  Mean income (before housing costs) Mean income (before housing costs) Mean income (before housing costs) 
			 Bolton 20,100 21,600 21,200 
			 Bury 21,100 22,800 22,500 
			 Manchester 17,800 19,100 20,100 
			 Oldham 19,000 20,400 20,400 
			 Rochdale 19,200 20,700 20,600 
			 Salford 19,000 20,400 21,200 
			 Stockport 22,500 24,200 24,300 
			 Tameside 19,100 20,600 21,200 
			 Trafford 23,200 25,000 24,500 
			 Wigan 19,700 21,200 21,600 
		
	
	1 Incomes are presented net of income tax payments, National Insurance contributions and Council tax; and are equivalised using the modified-OECD scale to account for differences in household size and composition.
	2 Figures rounded to the nearest £100.
	3 Data are produced from ONS’s Small Area Income Estimates, based on data by middle layer super output area.
	Source: Office for National Statistics

Insurance Securities

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will establish a formal investigation, independent of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), into the FCA’s handling of the announcement it made via the press on 28 March of an investigation into closed insurance funds; and whether they have made an estimate of the financial consequences of the creation of a possible false market in insurance securities as a result of the initial announcement and subsequent amendments.

Lord Newby: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Board has announced an investigation which will be independent of the FCA executive. A senior independent lawyer will investigate what went wrong and make appropriate recommendations.
	The Chancellor has written to the Chair of the FCA setting out the questions that the investigation should answer. This includes the question of to what extent a false or disorderly market was present in the period before the FCA issued its statement of clarification. The letter was copied to the Treasury Committee and has been published on the Treasury’s website.

Iran

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the number of death sentences handed down so far during 2014 in Iran; and whether they have discussed the issue with President Rouhani and the government of Iran.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We are deeply concerned by reports of more than 100 executions in the first three months of 2014, including for crimes not considered by the international community to be the ‘most serious’ and for which the death penalty can be applied. We have raised our concerns about Iran’s use of the death penalty with the Iranian authorities; and will continue to do so.

Islamist Organisations

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Islamist organisations they consider to present a threat to the United Kingdom.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: I cannot comment on intelligence matters.
	The list of proscribed terrorist organisations can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/301777/ProscribedOrganisationsApril14.pdf
	Proscription is not targeted at any particular faith or social grouping, but is based on our assessment of an organisation’s concern in terrorism. Over 60 organisations are currently, proscribed including 14 organisations connected to Northern Ireland and organisations seeking to advance a variety of other religious, ethnic, political and nationalist causes.
	The Extremism Task Force, which was set up by the Prime Minister following the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, looked closely at whether the Government were doing all they could to confront extremism and radicalisation. It concluded that it is often too easy for extremist preachers and groups to spread extremist views which can lead people into terrorism. The Government are therefore considering the case for new powers to ban groups which seek to undermine democracy or use hate speech.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with their European partners concerning whether Israeli security personnel convicted of violating human rights law in the West Bank should be refused free visas in line with the policy of the United States State Department.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: We have had no such discussions with EU partners. Israeli nationals coming to the UK as a visitor for less than six months do not require a visa. All other routes, will need a visa before travelling, where the usual rules, including fees and checks will be applied.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning the reported armed ambush and killing of Yusef a-Shawamreh in the West Bank in March.

Baroness Warsi: The Government has not had any discussions with the Israeli authorities over this specific case. We have, however, raised our concerns over the increasing number of deaths of Palestinians by the Israel Defence Forces.

Israel

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the government of Israel concerning recent reports of violence and racist graffiti by settlers in the village of Kifl Haris, during a religious ceremony.

Baroness Warsi: An official from our Embassy in Tel Aviv last raised our concerns over settler attacks with the Israeli National Security Council in early March.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Turnberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with Mahmoud Abbas on continuing the negotiations with Israel for a two-state solution.

Baroness Warsi: The Government is having regular discussions about the current peace talks with the Palestinian Authority and the Government of Israel. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), most recently had a discussion on 3 April with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about the peace process. The Foreign Secretary met with the Israeli Minister for Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs, Yuval Steinitz on 8 April where they discussed the latest in the peace process.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning Palestinian deaths since the beginning of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Baroness Warsi: We have made frequent representations to the Israeli authorities about Israel Defence Forces' use of live fire and appropriate force in both Gaza and the West Bank. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv most recently raised this issue with the Israeli Defence Force on 11 March.

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they plan to take to protect the property rights and security of Palestinians if peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are extended.

Baroness Warsi: I refer the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, to the answer I gave her on 21 November 2013 (Official Report, column WA233).

Israel and Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential of extended peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to effect change in Israel’s control of East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley.

Baroness Warsi: The Government fully supports the peace talks which we hope will lead to a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

Justice: Immigration and Asylum

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans significantly to reduce the involvement of expert non-legal members in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber; if so, in the light of the volume of deportation appeals and of unrepresented appellants, what alternative provision there will be for expert advice in sensitive cases; and how they will ensure that the public interest is fully represented on panel hearings.

Lord Faulks: The panel composition for Tribunals within the unified Tribunal structure are matters for the Senior President of Tribunals under the Tribunals, Courts & Enforcement Act 2007. These powers are delegated where appropriate to Chamber Presidents of individual chambers of the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. The Senior President published a consultation document regarding the deployment of non-legal members within the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in November 2013. The consultation sought views on whether senior judges within the Chamber should decide on a case-by-case basis whether a non-legal member should sit on a Tribunal panel “where the President of First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) or a Resident Judge has decided that there are strong public interest reasons”. The Senior President will publish a response to the consultation on www.judiciary.gov.uk. A copy of the consultation document published in November 2013 is available at the following link:
	http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/about-the-judiciary/the-judiciary-in-detail/judicial+roles/tribunals/senior-president-tribunals

Justice: IPP Prisoners

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners were imprisoned at the latest date available date; how many of those were beyond the tariff; and of those beyond their tariff, how many (1) have completed rehabilitation programmes courses successfully, (2) have been on rehabilitation courses but have not completed them successfully, (3) have been offered rehabilitation courses but are awaiting their completion, and (4) have not been offered rehabilitation courses.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Parole Board assesses the risk posed by individual prisoners when considering their release or transfer to open conditions, and work that has been completed to reduce these risks, rather than only looking at whether specific offending behaviour programmes (OBPs) have been completed. It is not mandatory for Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners to complete OBPs in order to achieve release. Other work that may help to reduce
	risk may take the form of accredited OBPs; however, it may also include activities such as education or training, work, one to one sessions with a psychologist and a range of other interventions. Although in some circumstances an OBP may be the preferred option, the Parole Board may consider that an offender has reduced their risk of harm, despite not being able to attend a particular course, because they have been able to undertake other offending behaviour work which has achieved the same outcome.
	As at 31 December 2013 there were 5,335 prisoners serving an Indeterminate Sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection, of which 3,561 were beyond the tariff.
	Of these prisoners beyond tariff, 3,160 had completed at least one accredited offending behaviour programme successfully; 415 had attended a programme and not completed it successfully and of these, 62 had yet to complete any programme successfully; and 184 are currently attending a programme and the outcome is not yet known.
	The figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	No information is collected on how many prisoners have not been offered an accredited offending behaviour programme and this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Kosovo

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of President Obama’s statement on 26 March that “Kosovo only left Serbia after a referendum was organised”.

Baroness Warsi: The point that President Obama was making is that the situations in Crimea and Kosovo are not comparable. Kosovo’s independence followed a humanitarian crisis, nearly nine years of UN administration, and the failure of a long period of inclusive, internationally sponsored negotiations on Kosovo’s final status. Kosovo thus declared independence only after other options were exhausted, and by the decision of a parliament that had been assembled through a free and fair vote conducted under UN supervision. None of these conditions apply in Crimea.

Legal Aid

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when the Lord Chancellor or any Minister in his Department last met the chief executive officer of the Legal Aid Agency; and whether they discussed (1) the issue of publicly funded representation at inquests for the
	families of deceased victims, and (2) the provision for publicly funded representation at the inquest of the family of Cherry Groce.

Lord Faulks: The Chief Executive of the Legal Aid Agency has regular meetings with Ministers at the Ministry of Justice.
	Following a review of its decision in the Groce family’s case, the Legal Aid Agency made a funding request to Ministers. Ministers have considered the request and have granted funding.

Legal Aid

Lord Boateng: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the functioning of the inquest system in the absence of publicly funded legal representation for the families of deceased victims of actions on the part of the police or other public authorities.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review the effectiveness of the inquest system in respect of the absence of a duty on the Legal Aid Agency to ensure publicly funded legal representation at inquests for families of victims of deaths in custody from the actions of police officers or in circumstances of failures in the duty of care of public authorities.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what guidelines have been issued to the Legal Aid Agency to ensure that families of deceased victims are legally represented at an inquest where criminal charges have previously been investigated.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the decision to refuse legal aid to the family of Cherry Groce at the inquest into her death is consistent with the equality objectives of the Ministry of Justice.

Lord Faulks: The Government is confident that the inquest system is functioning effectively following reforms introduced last July under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. We are committed to reviewing the impact of the reforms in 2015.
	In addition, the Government has specifically protected legal aid for families at inquests. Legal Help (the advice and assistance level of legal aid) remains routinely available within the scope of the civil legal aid scheme. In exceptional circumstances funding can also be provided for the family’s legal representation at the inquest pursuant to section 6(8)(b) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 (AJA) or section 10(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) (the applicable legislation depending on the date of the original application). A means test applies but can be waived in certain circumstances.
	The Lord Chancellor is prevented by statute from giving directions and guidance to the Legal Aid Agency in relation to an individual case, but has published general guidance to which the Director of Legal Aid Casework must have regard when making individual decisions on applications for exceptional funding for
	representation at inquests. The guidance sets out the relevant criteria and specifically addresses inquests where there is a death in custody or a death in the course of police arrest, search, pursuit or shooting.
	Following a review of its decision in the Groce family’s case, the Legal Aid Agency made a funding request to the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor has considered the request and has granted funding.

Legal Aid

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 27 March (WA 141), what steps they will take to ensure that legal aid resources are spent in the most equitable way and are not concentrated on fewer high-profile defendants.

Lord Newby: In the vast majority of cases, legal aid fees are based solely on factors such as the type of alleged offence, the length of trial and the amount of paperwork involved. They are not increased just because a defendant is “high-profile”. We plan to reduce these fees in 2015, subject to consideration of a number of reviews currently taking place. In addition, a very small number of the longest cases (Very High Cost Cases) are paid based on the work required and the substance of the case. These cases account for approximately 0.1% of criminal cases, but 7.5% of the legal aid spend. The Government is committed to controlling the cost of these cases, and has recently introduced a 30% cut in fees.

Listed Buildings: Energy-saving Measures

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what research they have commissioned to determine the impact on energy waste of restricting insulation measures on listed buildings.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of additional heating costs for listed buildings that are not able to install or use energy-saving measures because of their listed status; and what consideration they have given to defraying such costs through local taxation.

Lord Bates: Her Majesty's Government has not commissioned any research. However, almost every older building can accommodate some energy-efficiency improvements without harming either its special interest or environmental performance. However, an appropriate balance needs to be achieved between building conservation and measures to improve energy efficiency if lasting damage is to be avoided both to a building's character and significance and its fabric.
	Reducing carbon emissions from buildings is not just about insulating the building fabric. Much can be achieved by changing behaviour, avoiding waste, using energy-efficient controls and equipment and managing the building to its optimum performance, all of which is as relevant to older buildings as new ones.

Listed Buildings: Energy-saving Measures

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to amending the regulations governing alterations to existing listed buildings to permit the use and construction of energy-saving measures, such as double or triple glazing.

Lord Bates: Existing Building Regulations already strike a balance between the need to conserve energy and the need to protect buildings listed for their architectural or historic interest. The associated statutory guidance states that when undertaking work on or in connection with buildings with special historic or architectural value, the aim should be to improve energy efficiency where and to the extent that it is practically possible
	This is provided that the work does not prejudice the character of the host building or increase the risk of long-term deterioration to the building fabric. The statutory guidance says that, in arriving at a balance between historic building conservation and energy-efficiency improvements, it would be appropriate to take into account the advice of the local authority's conservation officer.

Living Wage

Lord Monks: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to address the situation in those parts of the United Kingdom where a high percentage of the workforce is paid less than the living wage.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to address the situation in those parts of the United Kingdom where a high percentage of women are paid less than the living wage.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government supports a living wage and encourages businesses to pay it when it is affordable but not at the expense of jobs. We recognise that these have been challenging times and we applaud companies that have chosen to pay higher wages.
	The Government’s primary tool for supporting the low paid workers is the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which is set by the independent Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises the wages of the low paid without damaging their employment prospects by setting it too high.
	There are four NMW rates depending on an individual’s age and whether they are an apprentice. It does not vary by gender or region. The Government has just approved a rise in the NMW to £6.50 per hour from October 2014. This is the biggest cash increase since 2008, with more than one million workers set to see their pay rise by as much as £300 per year.
	In addition to the NMW, this Government is helping to increase the take-home pay by cutting taxes, particularly for the low paid. We are raising the personal tax
	allowance to £10,500 by April 2015. This means over 3.2 million people will no longer pay income tax and the typical basic rate taxpayers will pay £805 less income tax per year than in 2010-11.

Living Wage

Lord Monks: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they are taking to encourage more employers to pay the living wage.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government supports a living wage and encourages businesses to pay it when it is affordable and not at the expense of jobs.
	We recognise that these have been challenging times and we applaud companies that have chosen to pay higher wages.
	This Government is helping to increase the take-home pay by cutting taxes, particularly of the low paid, taking 3.2 million out of income tax by 2015.

Living Wage

Lord Monks: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the analysis published by the Trades Union Congress on 1 April regarding the proportion of workers receiving the living wage; and what steps they are taking to address the situation in respect of those areas identified in that analysis as having a high proportion of (1) all workers, and (2) women, not receiving the living wage.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: The Government is aware of the analysis published by the Trade Unions Congress and is considering it.
	The Government supports a living wage and encourages businesses to pay it when it is affordable but not at the expense of jobs. We recognise that these have been challenging times and we applaud companies that have chosen to pay higher wages.
	The Government’s primary tool for supporting low paid workers is the National Minimum Wage (NMW) which is recommended by the independent Low Pay Commission at a level that maximises the wages of the low paid without damaging their employment prospects by setting it too high.
	There are four NMW rates depending on an individual’s age and whether they are an apprentice. It does not vary by gender or region. The Government has just approved a rise in the NMW to £6.50 per hour from October 2014. This is the biggest cash increase since 2008, with more than one million workers set to see their pay rise by as much as £300 per year.
	In addition to the NMW, this Government is helping to increase the take-home pay by cutting taxes, particularly for the low paid. We are raising the personal tax allowance to £10,500 by April 2015. This means over 3.2 million people will no longer pay income tax and the typical basic rate taxpayers will pay £805 less income tax per year than in 2010-11.

Local Authorities

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 13 March (WA 404), what stipulations, if any, they have placed upon (1) Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, (2) the North East Leadership Board, (3) Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, and (4) West Yorkshire Combined Authority in terms of (a) the membership of those bodies, (b) remuneration for their members, and (c) how meetings will be (i) chaired, and (ii) recorded.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: The Orders establishing each Combined Authority specify the membership of the body; and require the election of a chairman and vice-chairman at the first meeting of the Combined Authority and thereafter at its annual meeting. Each member has one vote and there is no casting vote. The Orders also make provision that no remuneration is to be payable to members except for allowances for travel and subsistence in accordance with a scheme drawn up by the Combined Authority. All of the councils concerned consented to these provisions, which were based on proposals originally made by the councils.
	The statutory provisions for the conduct of council meetings apply equally to the conduct of meetings of a Combined Authority, including provisions about the taking and publication of minutes. The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency applies to combined authorities and the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014, if approved by Parliament, will also apply.

Local Authorities

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , in the light of the recent comments by the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, regarding who should lead the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, what consideration they have given to the consequences should the leader of one constituent authority decide to withdraw from the combined authority.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: This Government has helped these councils set up a combined authority, something that all the local leaders asked for. I understand that they are now working together to make it work.
	As I explained during the recent debates in Grand Committee on the draft Orders providing for the establishment of the combined authorities, if in the future councils decide that changes to a combined authority are in the area’s best interest – perhaps another council joining, or one leaving – and the statutory conditions have been met, the Government would seek Parliamentary approval to a new draft Order providing for the changes to take place.
	The Order allows for any local authority to change their representative member on the Combined Authority.

NHS: “Better Services, Better Value” Review

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much money has been spent on the “Better Services, Better Value” review for NHS health services across south-west London.

Earl Howe: NHS England estimates the cost of the “Better Services, Better Value” (BSBV) review at around £8.2 million over three years. The six clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in south-west London have a joint annual commissioning budget of £1.6 billion. The amount spent on BSBV therefore represents 0.2% of the CCGs’ annual budget or 0.067% over three years.
	The six CCGs will use the detailed BSBV analysis in developing their five-year strategy for local health services.

NHS: “Better Services, Better Value” Review

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which individuals have been employed to conduct the “Better Services, Better Value” review for NHS health services across south-west London.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which public service providers have been employed to conduct the “Better Services, Better Value” review for NHS health services across south-west London.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government which private service providers have been employed to conduct the “Better Services, Better Value” review for NHS health services across south-west London.

Earl Howe: We understand that the “Better Services, Better Value” (BSBV) programme of health services across south-west London was led and managed by the local clinical commissioning groups, with the support of six working groups drawn from clinicians working in the local National Health Service. The BSBV programme was disbanded in February 2014.
	The companies employed by the BSBV to provide external consultancy support were Ernst and Young and 2020 Delivery. The programme also engaged the Office of Public Management. Over 100 clinicians working in the local NHS developed the BSBV clinical models.

NHS: Keogh Review

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action has been taken at Basildon and Thurrock NHS Foundation Trust since July 2013 to implement the findings of the Keogh Review.

Earl Howe: On 14 February 2014, Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority jointly published Special Measures—update report, a report summarising the progress made at the National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts placed in special measures following Sir Bruce Keogh’s review of persistently high hospital mortality rates (“the Keogh review”). This includes Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
	Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has put a range of measures in place to ensure that patient safety and care issues are identified and addressed at the earliest stage.
	The Trust is committed to continuing to improve the quality of services and care provided at its hospitals, and will ensure it listens and is responsive to patient concerns. The Care Quality Commission's Chief Inspector of Hospitals will re-inspect the Trust later this year to assess the improvements in its services. The noble Lord may wish to contact the Trust directly for information about further improvements.

North Korea

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking in relation to tensions between North and South Korea following North Korea's artillery shelling and detonation near the border between those countries.

Baroness Warsi: On 31 March 2014, during a pre-planned and pre-advised live-fire exercise, a small number of artillery shells from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea landed in waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea. The Republic of Korea military responded with its own artillery fire into waters on the northern side of the NLL. There were no reported casualties.
	We have been monitoring the situation closely and are in contact with international partners. The situation is currently calmer but tensions remain high. In a Written Ministerial Statement on 31 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), urged both sides to exercise restraint and not to retaliate further.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of North Korea’s launch of two mid-range missiles, its statement that it “would not rule out a new form of nuclear test for bolstering up its nuclear deterrence” and China’s decision to support the United Nations Security Council’s condemnation of those developments.

Baroness Warsi: We are extremely concerned that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has fired two medium range missiles into the Sea of Japan, in a further clear breach of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1718, 1874, 2087 and 2094. We are also concerned by the DPRK's statement implying that they are considering further missile or nuclear tests.
	We urge the DPRK to comply with all of its obligations under relevant UNSCRs and to refrain from any further provocations that would only further destabilise the peninsula.
	We welcome China’s support in the UN Security Council condemning North Korean provocations, and we encourage all countries to call on the DPRK to abide by its international obligations.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports that officials in the North Korean Workers' Party who were associated with Jang Song-thaek have been sentenced to death; and what recent representations the United Kingdom Ambassador to North Korea has made to the authorities there about the use of capital punishment, torture and political prison camps.

Baroness Warsi: We are aware of media reports that 200 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government officials believed to be close Jang Song-thaek, who was executed in December 2013, have been sentenced to death. Personnel changes within various organisations suggest the purge of those related to Jang Song-thaek is continuing. However, the lack of transparency means we are unable to confirm what has happened to those who have been removed from their positions. The UK is appalled but not unsurprised by reports of executions in DPRK. During meetings with DPRK authorities we regularly raise concerns about the horrific human rights situation. Our Ambassador in Pyongyang raised these concerns during a meeting with a Vice-Minister from the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January and we have raised them with other officials in March.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the United Kingdom Ambassador to North Korea has raised with the authorities there the terms of the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) condemning “long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross” human rights violations in North Korea; and whether they have made representations to those countries which abstained or voted against the Resolution to give further thought to the findings of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry and to encourage support for the work of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly raise concerns about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) during our meetings with the DPRK authorities. We have raised
	the Commission of Inquiry report and will be raising the UN Human Rights Council Resolution (UNHRC) in our next meetings. The UK played a key role in ensuring a strong Resolution and will continue to work with partners to ensure the matter remains in the spotlight. It is unfortunate that some UNHRC members chose to either abstain or vote against the Resolution and, as we made clear in the UK statement at the time of the vote, we consider that doing so was a failure in their responsibility to help resolve the crisis and improve the lives of the North Korean people. Nevertheless, the resolution was passed with a significant majority and provides a solid platform for ongoing work in this area, not least through increased support for the Special Rapporteur. We are pleased that it includes a provision encouraging all states who have relations with the DPRK to use their influence to encourage the DPRK to take immediate steps to end all human rights violations. In our bilateral contacts with these states we will be encouraging them to act in accordance with this provision.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the passage of Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) on human rights violations in North Korea, what assessment they have made of the suggestion by Amnesty International to increase pressure on North Korea; and whether they are taking any action along such lines.

Baroness Warsi: The UK played a leading role in ensuring a strong UN Human Rights Council Resolution and will continue to work with partners to ensure the issue remains in the spotlight. We agree with the view expressed by Amnesty International that the message sent to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) authorities by the resolution could not be clearer. As both Amnesty International and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have said, crimes against humanity will not be tolerated and those responsible must face justice. As the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), outlined in his Written Ministerial Statement of 31 March, we welcome the final text of the resolution which includes a specific request that the UN Security Council consider referral of the situation in the DPRK to the appropriate international criminal justice mechanism. As a first step, the Commission of Inquiry will give an informal “Arria” briefing to the Security Council on 17 April. Other elements of the resolution which reflect earlier calls from Amnesty International include concrete measures to ensure the work of the Commission of Inquiry is continued. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur has been extended and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is requested to provide the Rapporteur with increased support, not least through a new structure to strengthen monitoring and documentation of the human rights situation in the DPRK, as well as through capacity building of others working to address this issue. These measures will ensure that whenever and however the DPRK regime is brought to account, the material will be there to build a strong case against those responsible for violations.

North Korea

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they are having with the United States Special Envoy on North Korea, Ambassador Robert King, about ways to build international action to follow through the passage of United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution (A/HRC/25/L.17) on human rights violations in North Korea.

Baroness Warsi: The UK’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met with Ambassador King on 18 March to discuss the UN Human Rights Council Resolution and how it could be used to build international action to improve the human rights situation in North Korea. In the near future we hope to welcome him.
	On 27 March, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), discussed the resolution with US Assistant Secretary Russel. We will continue to work with the US and others to ensure that there is accountability for the horrifying human rights violations documented in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Northern Ireland: On-the-runs

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Randerson on 26 March (WA 124) and 3 April (WA 226), whether they had considered conferring on the review chaired by Lady Justice Hallett the power of compulsion over (1) current officials, and (2) others; if not, why not; if so, why they decided not to confer the power of compulsion; and what sanctions will be applied to current officials who refuse to attend.

Lord Bates: The Prime Minister's statement of 27 February made clear that the inquiry will have full access to files held by the Government, and government officials who are requested to appear will be expected to do so. The Government does not therefore believe the inquiry requires the power of compulsion.

Northern Ireland: On-the-runs

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Randerson on 26 March (WA 124) and 3 April (WA 226), what is their estimate of the cost of the review chaired by Lady Justice Hallett.

Lord Bates: The current estimate for the cost of the inquiry chaired by Lady Justice Hallett is £490,000.

Northern Ireland: On-the-runs

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Randerson on 26 March (WA 124) and 3 April (WA 226), what assessment they have made of the benefits to the judicial process of the judge-led review into the “on the run” letters.

Lord Bates: No assessment has been made of the benefits to the judicial process. Lady Justice Hallett has been asked to produce a full public account of the operation and extent of the administrative scheme for OTRs, to determine whether any letters sent through the scheme contained errors, and to make recommendations as necessary on this or related matters that are drawn to the attention of the inquiry. What actions are then required will depend on Lady Justice Hallett’s recommendations.

Northern Ireland: On-the-runs

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to widen the terms of reference of the independent review of the operation and extent of the administrative scheme for dealing with so-called “on the runs” to cover the question of what understandings or guarantees of immunity from prosecution may have been given to facilitate the talks leading to a ceasefire by IRA/Sinn Fein and to the Belfast Agreement.

Lord Bates: The Prime Minister set out the terms of reference for Lady Justice Hallett’s review on 27 February. How those terms of reference are delivered is a question for Lady Justice Hallett, who has full access to government officials and documentation in order to fulfil her remit.

Northern Ireland: On-the-runs

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Randerson on 8 April (HL Deb, cols 1237–9), in the event that the police fail to provide the review led by Lady Justice Hallett with adequate information in respect of whether they are currently seeking evidence on “on the runs”, what steps they will take to ensure that Parliament is provided with such information.

Lord Bates: I understand the PSNI are working closely with Lady Justice Hallett’s team to provide access to the information they require in order to fulfil their remit. It will be a matter for Lady Justice Hallett to consider and, if she so wishes comment on, the levels of co-operation received from all relevant parties, and to make recommendations. Her Majesty’s Government will respond appropriately to any recommendations which Lady Justice Hallett makes.

Offenders: Ex-Service Personnel

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to ascertain the number of ex-service personnel receiving (1) custodial, and (2) non-custodial, sentences.

Lord Faulks: The Ministry of Justice does not centrally collate or hold information on the current or previous occupations of those receiving custodial or non-custodial sentences; it is therefore not possible to identify ex-service
	personnel within centrally held data sources. However, in September 2010, the MoJ and Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) published an estimate of the number of regular ex-service personnel in prison in England and Wales and, in March 2011, the MOJ and DASA published a further estimate of the number of regular ex-service personnel under probation supervision in England and Wales.
	Copies of the reports are available via the following links:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ex-armed-forces-prisoners-in-england-and-wales-statistics-2010
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-on-probation-statistics

Offenders: Ex-Service Personnel

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will attempt to measure the re-offending rates of ex-service personnel convicted of criminal offences.

Lord Faulks: The Ministry of Justice does not centrally collate or hold information on the current or previous occupation of those convicted of criminal offences; therefore it is not possible to provide re-offending rates for ex-service personnel in the criminal justice system.
	Rory Stewart MP has been invited to conduct an independent review of ex-services personnel within the criminal justice system. He has been asked to consider the needs of ex-services personnel, current rehabilitation available to them, how they are identified and best practice. The review is due to report back in autumn 2014 and we will then consider his recommendations.

Offenders: Special Needs Statements

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether youth offending teams are given access to students’ special needs statements as of right.

Lord Faulks: Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) can request access to special needs statements from the education services arm of local authorities that hold them, but they have no access to these as of right. Under the Education (Special Educational Needs) (England) (Consolidation) Regulations 2001, local authority education services are not permitted to share these statements, without the student’s consent, with external parties including YOTs, except for prescribed reasons which include where the local authority in question judges it necessary to do so in the interests of the child, on the order of a court or for the purpose of any criminal proceedings.
	Under the Children and Families Act 2014, YOTs and local authorities will be required to co-operate in the exercise of the authority’s functions relating to
	children and young people with special educational needs—for example, in the assessment for and preparation of education and healthcare plans in relation to young people known to the YOT.

Ofsted

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the report by Policy Exchange, Watching the Watchmen: the future of school inspections in England, what measures are being taken to ensure that Ofsted inspectors used from private firms are accredited and qualified.

Lord Nash: This question is a matter for Ofsted. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has written to the noble Lord and a copy of his response has been placed in the House Library.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what methodology they use in co-ordinating with international partners the levels and distribution of international aid.

Lord Bates: There is no single international system designed to co-ordinate the level and distribution of international aid. However, the key determinant of where donor funds are distributed is the dialogue and co-ordination within each recipient country which is, where possible, led by the recipient country’s Government.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in relation to aid to Ethiopia, whether they have liaised with the Government of the United States about the co-ordination of development assistance in the agricultural sector.

Lord Bates: The UK is part of the US-led New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Ethiopia, which entails regular dialogue and co-ordination of our work in the agricultural and related sectors. DfID and USAID are co-donors to the national safety net programme, which provides cash and food for some 7 million food-insecure Ethiopians, most of whom are rural farmers. We also collaborate closely on land issues; DfID’s new land certification programme in Ethiopia builds on work by USAID to test certification methodologies.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they co-ordinate the United Kingdom’s emergency aid efforts and expenditure with those of non-governmental organisations and bilateral donors to avoid duplication and waste.

Lord Bates: Information is consistently shared by the UK with NGOs and other donors at headquarters and field level, and the level of funds pledged or committed are regularly updated on the UN’s Financial Tracking Service. The UK also plays a key leadership role during responses, encouraging all humanitarian actors to co-ordinate and to do so in partnership with the affected Government wherever appropriate.

Overseas Aid

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they take in concert with the United Nations and the European Union to ensure that international aid is fairly and efficiently distributed and that waste and corrupt practices are avoided.

Lord Bates: There is no single international system designed to co-ordinate the level and distribution of international aid. However, the key determinant of where donor funds are distributed is the dialogue and co-ordination within each recipient country which is, where possible, led by the recipient country’s Government.

Overseas Aid: Product Development Partnerships

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of product development partnerships as a means for improving healthcare delivery overseas.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many and which product development partnerships they are currently funding in healthcare delivery overseas.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with other European states funding product development partnerships in healthcare delivery overseas.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to fund product development partnerships in healthcare delivery overseas jointly with other European states.

Lord Newby: Product development partnerships, using a mixture of public and private sector partners, can develop new technologies more rapidly than either the public or private sectors alone.
	The UK Government is currently supporting ten product development partnerships, details of nine awards were published 23 August 2013 and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dfid-invests-to-save-millions-from-deadly-diseases.
	Support is also provided to the Meningitis Vaccine Development Programme. A number of European States fund product development partnerships. Funding is awarded independently by each European State, but there are regular and ongoing discussions amongst the funders about ongoing progress of the development of new products.

Pakistan: Religious Minorities

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last made representations to the government of Pakistan about the personal security and protection needs of Christians, Hindus, Shias and Ismailis; and what responses they received.

Baroness Warsi: It is vital that the Government of Pakistan protects and guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their faith or ethnicity, as laid down in the Constitution and in accordance with international standards. As Senior Minister of State for Faith and Communities with a personal commitment to freedom of religious belief, I had frank discussions with the Pakistani Prime Minister and other ministers during my most recent visit to Pakistan and during the UN General Assembly. I will continue to press the Pakistani government to meet these commitments. The British Government also remains fully committed to working in partnership with Pakistan to tackle terrorism and violent extremism in all forms which threatens the people of both our countries and the security of all communities in Pakistan. Our concerns are documented in the latest Foreign and Commonwealth Office annual Human Rights report launched on 10 April.

Palestine

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they will take to preserve Palestinians’ rights to worship at their own holy sites within Jerusalem.

Baroness Warsi: We regularly urge the Israeli authorities to comply with their obligations under international law as an occupying power in East Jerusalem, including with regard to the protection of holy sites. We will continue to raise with the Israeli authorities our concerns over restrictions on movement and access and the Separation Barrier that limits access for Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza to holy sites in Jerusalem.

Passports

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to recognise passports issued by Russia to residents of Crimea following the annexation of that territory from Ukraine as valid travel documents.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government is clear that the UK does not recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea which we view as illegal.
	Some residents of Crimea already hold Russian nationality, and were in possession of a valid Russian passport before Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. Subject to any travel ban imposed upon an individual, the UK will continue to recognise any legitimate holder of a Russian passport with a valid UK visa or entry clearance as eligible to travel and seek entry to the UK.
	In terms of UK visa applications, those applying for visitor visas can apply at any location. Applications for visas in other categories should, in line with paragraph 28 of the Immigration rules, be made in the country or territory in which they are living. Therefore, Russian passport holders living in Crimea would be able to apply for a visit visa anywhere in the world, including Russia; but any non-visit applications would need to be made in Ukraine.

Peace Walls

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many so-called peace walls currently exist in Belfast; what is their total size (meaning their height multiplied by their breadth); and what were the equivalent figures in 2000 and 2010, or their best estimates of those figures.

Lord Bates: This is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Minister of Justice. The Noble Lord may, however, wish to note the Community Relations Council publication at:http://www. community-relations.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Peace-Monitoring-Report-2014.pdf. This refers to the number of peace walls as part of its report.
	The Northern Ireland Office does not keep statistics on peace walls which became the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive following the devolution of policing and justice matters in 2010. The Noble Lord may wish to contact the Department of Justice to obtain the information he seeks.

Pensions

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the average charge-out rate of pension advisers in calculating the quantity and quality of advice that will be available to people retiring under the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton: At Budget the government announced a new guarantee that everyone with a defined contribution pension will be offered free and impartial face-to-face guidance on their financial choices in retirement when they retire.The government is consulting on how best to deliver this guidance as part of its consultation, ‘Flexibility and Choice in Pensions’.
	In addition, the government will work with the FCA to explore the extent to which regulated advice can be made more affordable through more cost effective delivery, such as through the development of online delivery channels.

Pensions: Public Spending

Lord Wills: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the impact on public spending as a result of the new pension arrangements announced in the 2014 Budget.

Lord Deighton: The impact will depend on how people choose to use their pension savings, which is difficult to predict.The Government expects any impact to be small in the context of the other pension measures announced in this Parliament – including State Pension age changes, the introduction of the single tier pension and public service pension reform – which are projected to save around £17 billion in 2030 in today’s terms. The estimated net fiscal impact of pension changes announced in this Parliament can be found in Chart 1.12 of the Red Book here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment _data/file/293759/37630_Budget_2014_Web_ Accessible.pdf

Police: Ethnic Minority Recruitment

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to promote ethnic minority recruitment to the police.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Improved diversity in policing is absolutely necessary to cut crime in a modern, diverse society, while building the trust and confidence of local communities. It is important police forces reflect the communities they serve. While progress has been made to increase diversity of the workforce, the Government has said that there is still more for forces to do.
	This Government’s reforms have already made improvements; for example we set up the College of Policing which has embarked on a major programme to improve the recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic officers. Locally, Police and Crime Commissioners will ensure that the public’s priorities on crime and community safety are acted upon.
	The Home Office is actively engaged with the College and forces to ensure that this work is given appropriate priority and that learning, best practice and opportunities are identified and shared.

Ports

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 30 April 2012 (WA 420), what is their policy on grants and state aids for harbour dredging; under which United Kingdom Government and European Union funding programmes grants are permitted; what account they take of the effect of any grant on competition with other ports in the area or region; under what circumstances grants for dredging are available for a single beneficiary which will be the main commercial beneficiary; and whether, in any application for a grant for port development, any dredging element must be identified and justified separately.

Lord Bates: The Government’s policy, as confirmed in the National Policy Statement for Ports, is that the ports industry in England and Wales is generally successful in funding investment, including in capital dredging, on a commercial basis without need for support from public funds. Consequently there is a general presumption against such grants, which can displace and deter private sector investment and distort competition, whether for single or multiple beneficiaries. There may, however, be occasional exceptions, as in the case of the Regional Growth Fund grant awarded for dredging in Liverpool Bay and the Mersey Estuary. This was based on an exceptional regional economic regeneration justification. In any such case, the prospective impact on competition with other ports would be taken into account during consideration of the application.
	Dredging costs, along with other port costs, could potentially be eligible for grants from European funding schemes such as the Connecting Europe Facility and Trans-European Networks—Transport (CEF/TEN-T). The Government would normally expect any grant application for UK or EU funds to show disaggregated costings, including clear identification of any dredging element that may be present.

Prisoners: Books

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to the Howard League for Penal Reform’s request to the Ministry of Justice to reverse its ban on family and friends sending books to prisoners.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: There are important reasons why we have restricted the sending in of parcels by families and friends of prisoners and we do not intend to withdraw those restrictions. The changes we introduced last year in relation to parcels were to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always
	been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
	We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners’ welfare. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Prisoners may hold up to 12 books in their cell at any one time, and additional books can be stored locally at the prison. The National Offender Management Service also works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as “Toe by Toe”, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

Prisoners: Books

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their reasons for reducing the access to books of prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks: We have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons.
	We have always recognised the importance of reading and literature in the rehabilitative process, and the positive effects these have on prisoners’ welfare.Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access. Prisoners may hold up to 12 books in their cell at any one time, and additional books can be stored locally at the prison.The National Offender Management Service also works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as 'Toe by Toe', which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.
	There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.

Prisoners: Books

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that library facilities in prisons, including the availability and ordering of books, are fit for purpose.

Lord Faulks: Prison library services are, in the majority of prisons, provided by Public Library Authorities. Prison libraries enable prisoners to receive, subject to the constraints of operating within a custodial environment, a service equivalent to that provided for library users in the community.

Prisoners: Education

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of the introduction of regulations to stop parcels being sent to prisoners, they have plans to improve prison libraries.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Prison library services are, in the majority of prisons, provided by Public Library Authorities. Prison libraries enable prisoners to receive, subject to the constraints of operating within a custodial environment, a service equivalent to that provided for library users in the community.
	We have no plans to make changes to these services.

Prisoners: Education

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the literacy figure for prisoners (1) across the prison estate, and (2) broken down into prison category.

Lord Livingston of Parkhead: We are working with the National Offender Management Service to introduce, this summer, mandatory maths and English assessment for all prisoners at Reception. The assessment will be undertaken by the Offender Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) provider, and will also identify those prisoners with learning difficulties and disabilities. At present, we have no data on the general level of prisoner literacy, nor any data on literacy levels by prison category.
	Final data for the 2012/13 academic year show that there were 22,620 offenders aged 18 or over in the prison system participating on an English course.

Prisoners: Education

Baroness Morgan of Huyton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the Ministry of Justice’s March 2013 report showing a link between employment and reduced re-offending, what plans they have to improve literacy education for prisoners.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether prison governors have targets for the improvement of literacy skills of prisoners; and whether those targets are monitored.

Lord Newby: We are taking a number of steps to enhance and build upon the current learning and skills offer to prisoners. We firmly believe that giving offenders the skills and training they need to get and keep jobs on release reduces their likelihood of re-offending.
	Officials from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) are working with the Skills Funding Agency and providers of the Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) to continually improve the quality of the teaching and learning experienced by prisoners through the development and dissemination of good practice. New approaches to literacy in particular include an increase in the use of peer mentors, embedded learning as part of other regime activities, and the introduction of a National Reading Network in association with the Shannon Trust.
	Later this year we will be introducing mandatory education assessment by the OLASS providers for all newly-received prisoners. This will ensure that all prisoners, not just those who go on to learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around literacy and numeracy but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities). NOMS and its partners are also working towards implementing better data-sharing arrangements between prisons and OLASS providers, so that more is known about prisoners’ previous assessments, progress, and achievements, as well as their current educational needs.
	Intensive literacy and numeracy courses, based on the Army’s model, have also been piloted in prisons, particularly to address the needs of prisoners serving short sentences. Prison Governors and OLASS providers are working together to deliver such courses where appropriate.
	Prison Governors do not have targets regarding the improvement of prisoners’ literacy skills. As noted previously, we are taking considerable steps both to further identify literacy learning needs and then to address them.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Lord Fellowes: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Lord Chancellor considers that the rehabilitation and behaviour of prisoners will be encouraged by preventing them receiving books by post.

Lord Faulks: Up to 12 books may be held by prisoners in their cell at any one time. Prisoners may have additional books stored locally at the prison. Every prison has a library, to which every prisoner has access.
	Ministers have not made any policy changes specifically about the availability of books in prisons. The changes to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework we introduced last year in relation to parcels were introduced to ensure consistency across the estate and to make sure that security can be maintained. There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons, and allowing parcels to be sent in unrestricted would be operationally unmanageable and would lead to a significant risk of drugs and other illicit items being smuggled into prisons.
	The National Offender Management Service works closely with the Shannon Trust to support schemes such as Toe by Toe, which includes peer mentoring to improve reading levels.

Prisons: Budget

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the current population in each of the United Kingdom’s (1) public prisons, and (2) private prisons; and what is the budget for each individual prison of each type.

Lord Faulks: Individual prison population information is published monthly on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2014
	The table below identifies, as at Friday 28 March, the population of each public and private sector prison and NOMS run Immigration Removal Centre in England and Wales.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible error(s) with data entry and processing.
	Allocated budgets for individual prisons for financial year 2014-15 are in the process of being finalised and are not yet available. Budget allocations will be made on the basis of need and according to Departmental priorities.
	
		
			 Population in (1) public sector prisons, (2) private sector prisons, and (3) NOMS Operated (Public Sector) Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) as at Friday 28 March 2014. 
			 Public Sector Prisons 
			 Prison Name Population 
			 Askham Grange 98 
			 Aylesbury 404 
			 Bedford 480 
			 Belmarsh 875 
			 Blantyre House 121 
			 Brinsford 536 
			 Bristol 593 
			 Brixton 772 
			 Buckley Hall 445 
			 Bullingdon 1,095 
			 Bure 618 
			 Cardiff 801 
			 Channings Wood 720 
			 Chelmsford 580 
			 Coldingley 510 
			 Cookham Wood 119 
			 Dartmoor 648 
			 Deerbolt 501 
			 Drake Hall 313 
			 Durham 925 
			 East Sutton Park 90 
			 Eastwood Park 339 
			 Elmley (Sheppey) 1,243 
			 Erlestoke 487 
			 Everthorpe 684 
			 Exeter 547 
			 Featherstone 674 
			 Feltham 616 
			 Ford 516 
			 Foston Hall 290 
			 Frankland 778 
			 Full Sutton 600 
			 Garth 666 
			 Gartree 706 
			 Glen Parva 657 
			 Grendon/Springhill 537 
			 Guys Marsh 564 
			 Haverigg 626 
		
	
	
		
			 Hewell 1,274 
			 High Down 1,124 
			 Highpoint (North and South) 1,321 
			 Hindley 274 
			 Hollesley Bay 430 
			 Holloway 513 
			 Holme House 1,209 
			 Hull 758 
			 Huntercombe 408 
			 Isis 616 
			 Isle of Wight 1,133 
			 Kennet 275 
			 Kirkham 626 
			 Kirklevington Grange 292 
			 Lancaster Farms 400 
			 Leeds 1,214 
			 Leicester 372 
			 Lewes 673 
			 Leyhill 506 
			 Lincoln 699 
			 Lindholme 1,002 
			 Littlehey 1,110 
			 Liverpool 1,266 
			 Long Lartin 617 
			 Low Newton 312 
			 Maidstone 587 
			 Manchester 1,151 
			 Moorland/Hatfield 1,259 
			 Mount 768 
			 New Hall 409 
			 North Sea Camp 395 
			 Norwich 764 
			 Nottingham 1,093 
			 Onley 676 
			 Pentonville 1,311 
			 Portland 572 
			 Preston 699 
			 Ranby 1,091 
			 Risley 1,094 
			 Rochester 732 
			 Send 270 
			 Stafford 731 
			 Standford Hill (Sheppey) 459 
			 Stocken 841 
			 Stoke Heath 632 
			 Styal 428 
			 Sudbury 588 
			 Swaleside (Sheppey) 1,110 
			 Swansea 442 
			 Swinfen Hall 585 
			 Thorn Cross 310 
			 Usk/Prescoed 503 
			 Verne 20 
			 Wakefield 740 
			 Wandsworth 1,574 
			 Warren Hill 46 
			 Wayland 986 
			 Wealstun 811 
		
	
	
		
			 Werrington 117 
			 Wetherby 203 
			 Whatton 837 
			 Whitemoor 456 
			 Winchester 657 
			 Wolds 367 
			 Woodhill 793 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,247 
			 Wymott 1,097 
		
	
	
		
			 Private Prisons 
			 Prison Name Population 
			 Altcourse 1,122 
			 Ashfield 387 
			 Birmingham 1,434 
			 Bronzefield 486 
			 Doncaster 1,143 
			 Dovegate 1,108 
			 Forest Bank 1,449 
			 Lowdham Grange 916 
			 Northumberland 1,345 
			 Oakwood 1,597 
			 Parc 1,348 
			 Peterborough (Male & Female) 947 
			 Rye Hill 626 
			 Thameside 886 
		
	
	
		
			 NOMS Operated (Public Sector) Immigration Removal Centres 
			 Prison Name Population 
			 Dover (IRC) 259 
			 Haslar (IRC) 162 
			 Morton Hall (IRC) 388

Prisons: HMP Belmarsh

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to respond to the recommendation by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that the library should increase its opening hours so that all prisoners have access to it.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they have taken to respond to the recommendation by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that not all cells in the High Security Unit and Special Security Unit were equipped with furniture and furnishings in line with the Prison Service's operating standards for such units.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that the requirement in the operating standards for the Governor to visit the High Security Unit and the Special Security Unit once a week had not been met.

Lord Newby: 1. The prisoner regime includes a programme to allow access to the library once a week for those not attending education. The implementation of New Ways of Working, which includes the introduction of a new Core Day, will increase the opportunity for prisoners to access the library.
	2. All in-use cells on the High Security Unit/Special Secure Unit are appropriately furnished in compliance with national guidelines, which are also included as part of the unit’s operating standards. The cells are also equipped to the specification required for accommodating Category A prisoners. The accommodation on the unit is inspected monthly, to ensure compliance and to maintain decency; this system is audited.
	3. The Governor has a programme of visits throughout the establishment; this includes visits to the HSU/SSU. The requirement for a weekly visit is completed by the Governor or the Deputy Governor, and the visits will ensure that all prisoners and staff are frequently seen and any emerging issues are heard and noted. These visits are now recorded for audit and inspection purposes.

Prisons: HMP Belmarsh

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his recent report on HMP Belmarsh that there was no evidence that the quarterly health reviews of all prisoners in the High Security Unit and the Special Security Unit required by the operating standards had been carried out.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons about the medical treatment in the High Security Unit and Special Security unit in HMP Belmarsh that led to his recommendation that patients “should receive confidential medical consultations and treatment that preserves privacy and dignity, unless risk assessment suggests otherwise”.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The HSU/SSU is visited daily by a nurse who will speak with every prisoner to establish whether there are any issues. The GP will visit the unit weekly (as a minimum). As part of the HMIP Action Plan that is being developed the Operating Standards are currently under review which will address the issue regarding quarterly reviews.
	The reference in the report was regarding one prisoner who was seen with discipline staff present; the privacy and dignity of prisoners is taken very seriously within HMP Belmarsh, however this must be balanced against the risk that the individual poses to others. Prisoners will be seen without escorting staff unless the risk is deemed to be too high, this is an exceptional circumstance rather than the rule.

Prisons: HMP Pentonville

Baroness Stern: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the conclusion of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report on HMP Pentonville that Home Office input on immigration matters relating to foreign prisoners was inadequate.

Lord Faulks: The Home Office and the National Offender Management Service work closely together to ensure that foreign national prisoners are identified, and where appropriate, removed from the country at the earliest opportunity. Regular discussions take place between Governors and Home Office officials to assess the level of immigration support required to achieve this.
	Since the Chief Inspector’s report, Home Office resources at HMP Pentonville have been increased. Immigration Officers now attend the prison on a total of 30 days per month and intend to be present on every weekday. Since 29th March they have also attended on Saturdays.
	Immigration Officers hold induction and documentation interviews and hold regular general immigration surgeries.

Prisons: HMP The Verne

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 7 April (WA 249), whether they have set a fixed date in September 2014 by which HM Prison The Verne will be re-designated to an immigration removal centre; if not, why not; and what action they will take if the re-designation has not been completed by the agreed date.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: HMP The Verne started taking immigration detainees as scheduled from 24 March 2014.
	Our current plans remain that by the end of September 2014, at the latest, HMP The Verne will be redesignated to an immigration removal centre.

Prisons: HMP The Verne

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 7 April (WA 249), in the light of HM Prison The Verne being used to take immigration detainees exclusively and the number of persons held under Immigration Act powers within HM Prisons, what plans they have to extend Rule 35 to the prison estate by an amendment to the Prison Rules; and, if there are no such plans, how a prison doctor’s concerns that a prisoner may be a victim of torture may be made known to the Secretary of State for the Home Department.

Lord Faulks: Prison Rule 21 provides that a medical practitioner shall report to the governor on the case of any person whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or any conditions of imprisonment. The governor is required to send any such reports to the Secretary of State. Although Prison Rule 21 does not replicate Detention Centre Rule 35 it performs a similar function. We therefore have no plans to amend Prison Rules in this case.

Probation: Mental Health Community Treatment

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people were given a community sentence with a mental health community treatment order in each Probation Trust area in each of the last three years.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Department of Health, Ministry of Justice and the Home Office are working closely with NHS England to deliver Liaison & Diversion services. These will ensure that offenders’ health needs (mental health, learning disability and substance misuse) are identified and assessed, and that the appropriate referral is made at the earliest opportunity within the criminal justice system. The information gained from such assessments should inform key decision makers within the CJS, so that prosecutors and sentencers are able to make more informed decisions.
	Liaison and diversion services will be introduced in police custody suites and criminal courts across England and funding has been transferred to NHS England to commission a test model from April 2014 that will form the basis of the rollout of this national service.
	The table below shows the number of offenders starting supervision under Community Orders with mental health treatment requirements attached, in each probation trust in England and Wales, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and January to September 2013. Data for the last quarter of 2013 will be available from 24 April 2014.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			 Offenders starting supervision under Community Orders with mental health requirements attached, by Probation Trust, England and Wales 
			 Trust 2010 2011 2012 Jan-Sep 2013(1) 
			 Avon & Somerset 13 13 8 8 
			 Bedfordshire 7 8 4 5 
			 Cambridgeshire 15 7 12 6 
			 Cheshire 6 0 3 2 
			 Durham Tees Valley 14 8 4 5 
			 Cumbria 8 2 4 4 
			 Derbyshire 6 8 7 1 
			 Devon & Cornwall 7 8 8 8 
			 Dorset 6 4 4 4 
			 Essex 33 35 19 20 
			 Gloucestershire 3 3 1 3 
			 Hampshire 23 19 17 12 
			 West Mercia 16 13 4 4 
			 Hertfordshire 29 12 10 5 
		
	
	
		
			 Humberside 6 5 2 4 
			 Kent 16 16 17 18 
			 Lancashire 10 6 5 11 
			 Leicestershire 6 7 4 3 
			 Lincolnshire 7 10 6 10 
			 Greater Manchester 57 52 41 34 
			 Merseyside 19 13 12 15 
			 Norfolk & Suffolk 7 17 18 6 
			 Northamptonshire 6 11 6 4 
			 Northumbria 19 10 7 6 
			 Nottinghamshire 12 12 4 12 
			 Thames Valley 22 18 22 10 
			 Staffs & West Mids 47 36 26 27 
			 Surrey & Sussex 23 19 24 11 
			 Warwickshire 4 3 1 1 
			 Wiltshire 5 3 8 5 
			 North Yorkshire 4 0 6 4 
			 South Yorkshire 20 15 7 13 
			 West Yorkshire 18 15 8 12 
			 Wales 30 37 37 13 
			 London 172 161 157 112 
			 England and Wales 696 606 523 418 
		
	
	(1) Data for October-December 2013 available after publication on 24 April 2014

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many proceedings have been brought under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each year since its enactment; what was the total amount pursued; and what has been the amount actually recovered.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: More money has been recovered from criminals under this Government than in any equivalent period previously. The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy sets out the steps we will take to attack criminal finances and further improve performance.
	The table below details the number of cases brought under the Proceeds of Crime Act together with the amounts set on orders that the courts issued and the amounts recovered. The amounts recovered in a given year do not necessarily relate to orders made in that year.
	
		
			 Order Type Measure 2002/2003 2003/2004 2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 
			 Cash Forfeiture Orders Number of cases (including unsuccessful) 24 311 671 911 1,354 3,025 
			  Value of orders granted (£m) £0.69 £18.83 £24.43 £33.72 £34.64 £38.01 
			  Collected (£m) £0.13 £15.81 £21.96 £31.80 £33.91 £35.46 
			 Confiscation Orders Number of cases (including unsuccessful) 6 227 1,679 3,172 3,840 4,820 
			  Value of orders granted (£m) £0.13 £1.96 £18.80 £39.54 £77.04 £147.02 
			  Collected (£m) £0.01 £0.64 £6.72 £18.89 £30.45 £53.38 
			 Civil Recovery Collected (£m) £0.00 £0.00 £5.44 £4.34 £15.04 £7.01 
			 Taxation Collected (£m) £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.00 £0.46 £0.67 
			 Total Value of orders granted (£m) £0.82 £20.79 £43.23 £73.25 £111.68 £185.03 
			  Collected (£m) £0.13 £16.45 £34.12 £55.03 £79.86 £96.51 
		
	
	
		
			 Order Type Measure 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 
			 Cash Forfeiture Orders Number of cases (including unsuccessful) 3,763 3,809 3,846 3,364 3,028 
			  Value of orders granted (£m) £43.49 £50.82 £44.19 £43.57 £39.22 
			  Collected (£m) £42.52 £56.42 £48.43 £45.02 £36.77 
			 Confiscation Orders Number of cases (including unsuccessful) 5,863 5,764 6,694 6,532 6,598 
			  Value of orders granted (£m) £152.29 £141.84 £213.53 £162.80 £304.42 
			  Collected (£m) £63.14 £66.27 £80.40 £111.05 £111.07 
			 Civil Recovery Collected (£m) £16.76 £11.39 £13.98 £20.28 £8.28 
			 Taxation Collected (£m) £2.36 £0.32 £1.05 £1.18 £1.33 
			 Total Value of orders granted (£m) £195.78 £192.66 £257.72 £206.37 £343.64 
			  Collected (£m) £124.78 £134.40 £143.85 £177.53 £157.45

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions an action under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 has also been investigated by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure that tax has been paid by the individuals concerned.

Lord Deighton: Actions under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002) (POCA) could include a variety of different provisions within the Act. For instance, the use of POCA investigative powers, a prosecution for a POCA money laundering offence, the use of criminal confiscation following conviction, the use of POCA civil recovery procedures or financial intelligence received by way of the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) regime.
	Where a law enforcement agency has suspicions of tax evasion it is up to that agency to refer the matter to HMRC to review and investigate as appropriate, using civil or criminal powers. HMRC does not keep a record of how many such referrals are made to them.
	Where HMRC is the investigating agency conducting the POCA actions, they routinely also assess the correct tax position and seek to recover outstanding amounts.

Public Expenditure

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 2 April (WA 197–8), what are the areas covered by “identifiable public expenditure”; and, for each pound of identifiable public expenditure per capita in England, for each of the last ten years, how much was spent in (1) Wales, (2) Scotland, and (3) Northern Ireland.

Lord Deighton: The first part of the question asks: what are the areas covered by “identifiable public expenditure”.
	The Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) is based upon the Total Expenditure on Services (TES) framework. Around 86 per cent of TES is identifiable expenditure, incurred for the benefit of individuals, enterprises or communities within particular regions (English regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). Examples include; health, education, social protection, transport and agriculture spending.
	The remaining 14 per cent of TES is deemed to be incurred on behalf of the UK as a whole, and as such is considered to be non-identifiable expenditure. Such examples include defence, overseas representation and tax collection.
	The CRA, as published in November 2013, can be used to provide country level splits of identifiable public expenditure on a total as well as per capita basis for the last five-years from 2008-09 to 2012-13.
	CRA data from the previous five years can be taken a year at a time from the latest and past editions of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses or PESA annual Command Paper.
	
		
			 Identifiable public expenditure per capita by country, taken from past and present editions of PESA, 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			  £ per capita 
			  2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			  outturn outturn outturn outturn Outturn 
			 England 6,011 6,424 6,772 7,015 7,397 
			 Scotland 7,277 7,552 8,227 8,588 9,026 
			 Wales 7,025 7,403 7,837 8,194 8,478 
			 Northern Ireland 7,868 8,325 8,699 8,955 9,524 
			 UK identifiable expenditure 6,221 6,622 7,003 7,261 7,648 
		
	
	Note: data taken from individual PESA publications covering the periods 2003-04 to 2007-08 should be viewed with caution when comparing across years. Between editions of PESA, a number of departments will have made revisions to country and regional allocation methodologies of several of their programmes.
	
		
			 Identifiable public expenditure per capita by country, taken from the 2013 CRA, 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  £ per capita 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			  outturn outturn outturn outturn Outturn 
			 England 7,911 8,498 8,508 8,368 8,529 
			 Scotland 9,394 9,913 9,944 9,941 10,152 
			 Wales 8,955 9,504 9,612 9,710 9,709 
			 Northern Ireland 9,996 10,506 10,572 10,665 10,876 
			 UK identifiable expenditure 8,146 8,724 8,740 8,631 8,788

Public Order Act 1986 and Crime and Disorder Act 1998

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 2 April (WA 208–12), how many prosecutions have been brought in the last 10 years in connection with religious hatred offences (as distinct from homophobic hatred offences) under sections 29B and 29C of the Public Order Act 1986 and in connection with religiously aggravated offences (as distinct from racially aggravated offences) under sections 31 and 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 2 April (WA 208–12), how many prosecutions brought in the last 10 years in connection with religious hatred offences (as distinct from homophobic hatred offences) under 29B and 29C of the Public Order Act 1986 and in connection with religiously aggravated offences (as distinct from racially aggravated offences) under sections 31 and 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 have resulted in a guilty verdict.

Lord Faulks: It is not totally possible to identify separately offences of religious hatred from those of homophobic hatred or religious aggravation from those offences of racial aggravation. Relevant details may be held on the court record, which can only be checked at disproportionate cost.

Racial Equality

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of why racial equality has not been achieved in higher-ranking jobs.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Action on inequalities in the workplace is taking place across government and public bodies and is reflected in the Government’s strategies and measures to tackle disadvantage such as: the Social Mobility Strategy; the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Strategy; the Child Poverty Strategy and the Social Justice Strategy. The Government are not complacent on these issues and know there is more to be done.
	A specific example of action is the Financial Reporting Council’s requirement for companies to disclose their policy on boardroom diversity, along with any measurable objectives that have been set for implementing the policy, and progress on achieving the objectives. In addition, the UK Corporate Governance Code states that companies should consider the balance of skills, experience, independence and knowledge of the company on the board, its diversity, and other factors relevant to its effectiveness as part of the board evaluation.

Railways: Franchises

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 3 April (WA 228), on railway franchises, whether they will now answer the original question.

Baroness Kramer: The UK Government continues to support the opening of rail markets across the European Union. In the context of the East Coast re-franchising competition, the UK Government has not made representations to the French Government in respect of passenger franchises on the French rail network.

Royal Mail: Shares

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government at what date share transactions in Royal Mail following the partial privatisation became publicly available.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Conditional dealing in Royal Mail shares started on 11 October 2013. Unconditional dealing in Royal Mail shares started on 15 October 2013, when the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
	As a plc, Royal Mail has a legal duty to maintain an accurate shareholder register and make this register available for inspection.

Schools: Foreign Languages

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they are doing to support the teaching of foreign languages in schools.

Lord Nash: The new national curriculum sets out clearly what should be taught to pupils, and gives teachers the flexibility to decide how to teach it. We expect schools to identify the support that they need to prepare for the new curriculum, recognising that different schools will face different challenges.
	We are allocating £350,000 to fund teaching school alliances and others to provide training on the new national curriculum for teachers of modern foreign languages in primary and secondary schools. Also, in terms of overall support for the new national curriculum, we have allocated some £1.9 million to teaching schools to lead curriculum change across and within their teaching school alliances.
	To support the introduction of a compulsory foreign language at key stage 2 (ages seven to 11) from September 2014, the independent Expert Group, chaired by a leading primary headteacher, has provided links to useful resources, which are hosted on the website of the Association for Language Learning.
	We are also making extensive use of social networking, including using high-profile headteachers and others to raise the profile of the new curriculum, including for languages, through podcasts, webchats and blogs.

Scotland: Independence Referendum

Lord Tyler: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the implications for future elections and referendums to be held in the United Kingdom of the relative voting rights in the Scottish independence
	referendum of (1) electors resident overseas but formerly resident in a Scottish parliamentary constituency, and (2) electors resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland but registered in a Scottish parliamentary constituency within the last 15 years.

Lord Bates: The Government has made no such assessment.

Serbia: NATO Bombing

Lord Tebbit: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to instigate an inquiry into possible links between the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia and the incidence of leukaemia and cancer in that country.

Baroness Warsi: We do not plan to instigate an inquiry into possible links between the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air operation in the former Republic of Yugoslavia and any incidence of leukaemia and cancer in Serbia. An assessment by the UN Environment Programme in 2002 found no evidence of harm by depleted uranium weapons.

Sharia Law

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many legal cases were decided under Sharia law in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.

Lord Faulks: Sharia law has no jurisdiction here and legal cases are not decided under Sharia law in the United Kingdom’s courts and tribunals. The answer to the question is therefore ‘none’.
	If people choose to use Sharia for the purposes of dispute resolution or to agree a contract, for example, the enforceability of such arrangements will be entirely dependent on the law of the relevant part of the United Kingdom.
	Regardless of religious belief everyone in the United Kingdom is equal before the law of the land.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Lord Barnett: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the average interest rate charged to small and medium-sized enterprises by United Kingdom banks.

Lord Deighton: The Government is committed to supporting small and medium sized businesses and recognises their importance to the economy. Since 2010, the Government has introduced a number of
	schemes aimed at improving access to finance for businesses, including the creation of the British Business Bank and the introduction of the joint Government and Bank of England Funding for Lending Scheme.
	Decisions about whether to lend to specific individuals or businesses including the rate of interest charged, remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.

Sport: Circuit of Wales

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support, if any, they are giving to the Circuit of Wales project.

Lord Bates: Economic and Sport development are devolved matters. The Government is not providing support for the Circuit of Wales Project. It is for the Welsh Government to decide how to allocate funding for leisure/tourism projects within their own capital budgets.

Sport: Circuit of Wales

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have received any representations from (1) Silverstone, (2) Brands Hatch, or (3) Formula One, in reaction to the Circuit of Wales project; and if so, whether they will publish any such representations.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: DCMS has not received any representations from Silverstone, Brands Hatch or Formula One in reaction to the Circuit of Wales project.

Sport: Football

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address concerns about football governance; and whether they intend to establish a working group, including representation from fans, to consider the issue further.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The Government continue to work closely with the football authorities to press for improvements in their governance of the sport and some welcome progress has been made.
	The Government are considering the potential terms of reference for an expert group on supporters ownership, as well as what would constitute appropriate membership of such a group.

Sport: Funding

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what transitional arrangements they will introduce to support athletes who will no longer receive world-class performance funding from UK Sport.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: UK Sport assesses the impact of all of its investment decisions as part of the Annual Invest Review process, and impact assessments were considered by UK Sport’s board during the decision-making process. UK Sport recognises that athletes and staff will be significantly affected by a decision to withdraw funding, and is continuing to work with sports whose funding has been withdrawn to ensure suitable transitional arrangements are in place. Any athlete in receipt of an Athlete Personal Award from UK Sport will continue to receive that funding for an additional three months from the point of notification.

Sport: Motor Racing

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support they provide to Formula One racing in the United Kingdom; and whether any such support benefits any race tracks.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: DCMS does not provide direct support to Formula One racing in the United Kingdom. The importance of events such as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which help support both local and wider UK visitor economies is recognised; Formula One is for example a key partner in the GREAT campaign.

Sport: Motor Racing

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they provide any assistance to (1) Silverstone motor racing circuit, or (2) Brands Hatch motor racing circuit; and, if so, what type of assistance.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: DCMS does not provide any assistance to Silverstone motor racing circuit or Brands Hatch motor racing circuit.

Sport: Racism

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the cost of the legal advice gained by the Metropolitan Police Service and Crown Prosecution Service which led to the policy of investigating the chant of “yids” by Tottenham Hotspur supporters by the Metropolitan Police Service prior to the Prime Minister’s comments on the matter on 16 September 2013; and what was the cost of the advice gained after that date.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was total cost associated with the charges dropped against three Tottenham Hotspur supporters in March relating to the chant of “yids”.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government who first contacted (1) the Metropolitan Police Service, and (2) the Crown Prosecution Service, with the suggestion
	that it was unlawful for the supporters of Tottenham Hotspur to chant “yids”, or that they should investigate the issue; whom they subsequently consulted; and how many meetings were held between those individuals or organisations, and at what level of seniority, to discuss the matter.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Home Office does not hold the information requested. The Crown Prosecution Service has no specific policy relating to the chanting of the word “yids” by Tottenham Hotspur supporters and incurred no legal advice costs on this specific issue. The case against the three Tottenham Hotspur supporters was discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service prior to the adjourned date of the hearing, without parties having to attend court, and without the associated costs being incurred.
	The Crown Prosecution Service National Football lead has been consulted on a number of occasions regarding whether the use of the word “yid” could amount to a criminal act. The general advice given on each occasion was that each case depends on its specific facts. In relation to the case that was dropped against the three Tottenham Hotspur supporters, the police contacted the Crown Prosecution Service prior to charge. Advice was given that there was a realistic prospect of conviction. It subsequently transpired that the further evidence was not available and the case was therefore discontinued. Prior to the discontinuance a meeting took place between senior police officers and the Crown Prosecution Service officials.

Sri Lanka

Lord Singh of Wimbledon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 7 April (WA 244), by what criteria they decided to promote a United Nations inquiry into events in Sri Lanka; whether they have considered the situation of the Sikh community in India against those criteria; if not, why not; and if so, with what conclusions.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We have serious human rights concerns on Sri Lanka, and concerns over lack of progress on accountability and reconciliation. In a joint statement with the UN Secretary-General in 2009, the Sri Lankan Government committed to addressing accountability issues. In 2011, the UN Panel of Experts recommended that the Sri Lankan Government should immediately hold “an effective domestic accountability process” into alleged violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law by both sides of Sri Lanka’s military conflict. The Panel of Experts also recommended that the UN Secretary-General should establish an “independent international mechanism” to investigate these allegations.
	In both 2012 and 2013, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) subsequently called upon the Sri Lankan Government to hold a credible domestic accountability process into the allegations. In the UN
	High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay’s report to the UNHRC on Sri Lanka in March 2014, the High Commissioner assessed that domestic accountability processes were “limited and piecemeal”, and that none “had the independence or credibility required”. As a result of this, the British Government supported the High Commissioner’s call for an international investigation. On 27 March, the UNHRC passed a resolution which establishes an international investigation, in addition to calling on the Sri Lankan Government to make progress on human rights and accountability.
	On the situation of the Sikh community in India, I refer the noble Lord to my Answer of 7 April 2014, Official Report, col. WA 244.

St Helena

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they expect that the recently announced St Helena hotel investment initiative by a British consortium will have on the Tourism Economic Development Plan of the St Helena Government.

Lord Bates: The UK Government expects tourism to be a driver of growth on St Helena once the airport opens in 2016. Any hotel investment which improves the quality and quantity of visitor accommodation is expected to have a positive impact on tourism and, over time, on St Helena’s economic development.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they will take to guarantee the safety of Mr Stephen Yaxley-Lennon if he is moved to another prison from HM Prison Winchester.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: NOMS takes the safety of all prisoners very seriously and individual risk assessment based on all relevant information informs any decisions made to safeguard individual prisoners.

Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports of the recent arrival at Port Sudan of land cruisers, tanks and heavy artillery to be delivered via the Sudanese authorities to Malian fighters in Western Darfur in camps around al-Geneina and Kutum.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We have not seen any reports of a recent arrival at Port Sudan of land cruisers, tanks and heavy artillery to be delivered via the Sudanese authorities to Malian fighters in Western Darfur in camps around al-Geneina and Kutum. The
	UK remains deeply concerned about the escalation of violence in Darfur. We continue to monitor developments in Darfur and call for all sides to immediately cease the violence.

Sudan

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have made representations to the government of Sudan following reports of population displacement by violence in Darfur since the beginning of 2014 and that UNAMID and humanitarian agencies have been prevented from entering the affected areas; and if so, at what level of government, and whether any other countries have been involved in those representations.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: We continue to raise the issues around Darfur with the Government of Sudan consistently and frequently, and at all levels. Most recently, the Minister for Africa, my hon. Friend the Member for Boston and Skegness (Mr Simmonds), issued two statements on 6 March and 7 April condemning the escalating violence in Darfur, calling for humanitarian access and for all sides to immediately cease the violence. Our Ambassador in Khartoum raised Darfur with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (State Minister level) in late March, and with the Chairman of the Darfur Regional Authority on 1 April. The Head of the Department for International Development (DFID) in Sudan met the Commissioner of the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) to raise access for humanitarian agencies in Darfur in April. The UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office also led a high level mission of UN and EU/US ambassadors and heads of agency to Darfur, during which UK representatives raised this issue with the Governor of North Darfur. Officials have also raised Darfur with the acting Ambassador of the Sudanese Embassy in London.
	UN Resolution 2148 which focuses on UNAMID was adopted on 3 April. It expresses particular concern at reports of an escalation of violence in Darfur since February 2014, resulting in the displacement of a large number of civilians, and at the denial of access for UNAMID and humanitarian actors to the affected areas by the Sudanese authorities and calls on the Government of Sudan to comply with the Status of Forces Agreement fully and without delay, and to enhance its co-operation with UNAMID on the implementation of the peacekeeping mission’s mandate.

Syria

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of recent deaths in the Yarmouk section of Damascus, reported by Amnesty International in its report Squeezing the life out of Yarmouk: War crimes against besieged civilians, and, in particular, of that organisation's attribution of the deaths to starvation and lack of medical care.

Lord Bates: DFID is deeply concerned by reports of Palestinian refugees in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus suffering and dying as a result of malnutrition and lack of medical care. Yarmouk has been under siege for some time and we are calling for unfettered access to all affected communities and for all sides to lift sieges to end this suffering.

Syria: Refugees

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making in hosting Syrian refugees.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The first group of Syrian refugees arrived in the UK on 25 March as part of the Government’s Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) Scheme. The next group of refugees is expected to arrive this month, with further groups to follow on a regular basis. We continue to work with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to establish a steady flow of cases.
	Whilst there is no set quota, we predict that the VPR scheme will support several hundred people over the next three years.
	A number of local authorities have indicated that they would like to participate in the scheme, and we are in discussions with other local authorities who have expressed an interest.

Taxation

Lord Rooker: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have commissioned any studies to assess behavioural change consequent upon income and corporate tax changes since 2010.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there is any evidence that income tax and corporate tax revenues have increased as the rates of income and corporate taxes have decreased since 2010.

Lord Deighton: The table below sets out the Corporation Tax rates from 2009-10 to 2014-15.
	
		
			  Small Profits Rate Main Rate 
			 2009-10 21% 28% 
			 2010-11 21% 28% 
			 2011-12 20% 26% 
			 2012-13 20% 24% 
			 2013-14 20% 23% 
			 2014-15 20% 21% 
		
	
	At Budget 2013 it was announced that from 2015-16 the rates would be unified to a single Corporation Tax rate of 20%.
	The latest year for which full data is available is 2011-12. Total onshore Corporation Tax liabilities fell slightly from £35.6bn in 2010-11 to £35.4bn in 2011-12. HMRC publishes annual National Statistics on Corporation Tax liabilities. Table 11.1B is found at [1].
	The table below sets out the Income Tax rates from 2000-10 to 2014-15.
	
		
			  Basic Rate Higher Rate Additional Rate 
			 2009-10 20% 40% - 
			 2010-11 20% 40% 50% 
			 2011-12 20% 40% 50% 
			 2012-13 20% 40% 50% 
			 2013-14 20% 40% 45% 
			 2014-15 20% 40% 45% 
		
	
	The Starting Rate of tax for savings is currently 10%. This is applied only to savings income which falls within the starting rate band above the personal allowance.
	In 2014-15 the personal allowance is £10,000 and the starting rate band is £2,880. At Budget 2014 the Government announced that from 2015-16 that band would be increased to £5000 and the rate set to 0%.
	The latest available income tax liability statistics held by HMRC relate to the tax year 2011-12. These statistics are found at [2].
	Other more timely published information is available in tax receipts statistics which are published on a monthly basis and could be considered as a leading indicator of liabilities. These statistics are found at [3].
	To estimate the exchequer impact of policy changes it is necessary to estimate the change in tax liabilities after taking into account the behavioural response. At each fiscal event where the tax rates have been changed these estimates have been made and certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility. These estimates are published in table 2.1of the corresponding Budget and Autumn Statement reports.
	There are significant behavioural responses associated with changes in the top marginal rate of income tax. The HMRC report ‘The Exchequer effect of the 50 per cent additional rate of income tax’[4] outlines these behavioural responses.
	HM Treasury and HMRC jointly published the report ‘Analysis of the dynamic effects of corporation tax reductions’ at Autumn Statement 2013[5].
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/256886/table11-1b.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277459/Table_2.6.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/294267/20140312_Feb_v0.2.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2012/excheq-income-tax-2042.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-the-dynamic-effects-of-corporation-tax-reductions

Taxation: Fraud

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prosecutions for VAT carousel fraud have taken place in the United Kingdom over the last six years.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service do not identify the number of prosecutions for fraud cases known as VAT carousel fraud. Such information could only be obtained through a manual search of records, which would incur a disproportionate cost.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have conducted any research into the public perception of current income tax regulations and banding; and whether they consider that there is public appetite for a flat rate of income taxation.

Lord Deighton: The Government has not conducted any research into the public perception of current income tax regulations and branding.
	The Government believes it is unlikely that there would be current public appetite for a flat rate of income taxation.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on staffing levels at HM Revenue and Customs of the adoption of a flat rate of income taxation.

Lord Deighton: The Government has not made an assessment of the impact on staffing levels at HM Revenue and Customs of the adoption of a flat rate of income taxation.

Taxation: Inheritance Tax

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proportion of an individual savings account comprised of qualifying shares quoted on the alternative investment market and held for two years is exempt from inheritance tax.

Lord Deighton: The inclusion of shares admitted to trading on the Alternative Investment Market—or other SME markets—within ISAs does not affect their eligibility for other tax reliefs.
	Shareholdings in trading companies quoted on the Alternative Investment Market held for at least two years prior to death or lifetime transfer qualify for full business property relief and are therefore exempt from inheritance tax. Further information on business property relief can be found on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/inheritancetax/pass-money-property/business-relief.htm

Taxation: Online Newspapers

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that newspapers delivered to their readers directly to online tablets or computers are exempt from VAT in the same way as the paper versions.

Lord Deighton: The Government has no plans to change the VAT treatment of the sale of digital newspaper products. Legal advice obtained by the Government indicates there is no scope to do so under EU law.
	Physical newspapers attract a zero rate of VAT in the UK. The sale of digital newspaper products is classified as electronic services and attracts the standard rate of VAT, in line with EU VAT law.
	The application of VAT in the EU, including rates and flexibilities afforded to member states in this regard, is governed by EU law.
	The European Commission is taking legal action against France and Luxembourg for applying a reduced rate of VAT to e-books, noting that the provision of e-books is an electronically provided service and as such cannot benefit from a reduced rate.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the costs of undertaking and producing the Chantler report into standardised tobacco packaging.

Earl Howe: The cost of undertaking and producing the Chantler report was approximately £125,000.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the Chantler report in respect of the merits and accuracy of the 2013 KPMG report on illicit tobacco in Australia.

Earl Howe: After the report stage debate on the Children and Families Bill on 29 January 2014, I wrote to Lord Naseby to provide further elaboration on a number of issues raised during that debate. I also copied the letter to other noble Lords who spoke in the debate. In that letter, I said that the Department had seen the report by KPMG titled, Illicit tobacco in Australia: 2013 Half Year Report, October 2013. The Department is aware that the report was commissioned by a number of tobacco companies operating in Australia and has noted the author's important notice about how they suggest the report be used. I suggested that we need to be cautious about data on illicit tobacco,
	and to rely on official statistics wherever possible. In the United Kingdom, for example, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs annually publish data on the size of the illicit tobacco market.
	In November 2013, Health Ministers asked Sir Cyril Chantler to undertake an independent review as to whether or not the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco is likely to have an effect on public health, in particular in relation to children. Sir Cyril's report was published on 3 April 2014, and copies have already been placed in Library.
	Sir Cyril included a chapter on illicit tobacco in his report, and specifically considered the KPMG report, finding that:
	“A recent industry funded KPMG report concludes that the level of illicit cigarettes as a percentage of total cigarette consumption is in the low teens and has increased since plain packaging was introduced. However, Australian Government departments, both Health and Customs, appear strongly of the view that KPMG's methodology is flawed. These Departments point to the Customs data which shows no significant impact on illicit tobacco, backed by analysis undertaken by the Cancer Council Victoria that suggests that illicit tobacco in Australia is only 10-20% of the level proposed by KPMG”.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the economic impact of introducing standardised tobacco packaging (1) on a regional basis, (2) on the tobacco industry, and (3) on the wider supply chain.

Earl Howe: The Department received information through the 2012, Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products. This consultation attracted over 650,000 responses. A summary report of the consultation was published by the Department on 12 July 2013 and copies have already been placed in the Library.
	In addition, in 2013 the Department had a series of meetings with representatives of tobacco companies and the wider tobacco manufacturing industry to gain as much information as possible to elaborate the impact assessment.
	The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy. The Department will publish a further consultation-stage impact assessment with this consultation.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have consulted the Intellectual Property Office regarding the proposed introduction of standardised tobacco packaging; and whether they will publish any advice or correspondence received.

Earl Howe: Ministers and officials regularly discuss tobacco control with their counterparts in other Government departments, including from the Intellectual Property Office, and will continue to do so in the process of reaching a decision on the Government's policy on tobacco packaging.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will publish the legal advice produced or received regarding the proposed introduction of standardised tobacco packaging.

Earl Howe: In accordance with normal practice, which is not to publish legal advice, the Government is not intending to publish any such advice relating to standardised packaging.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence they had received on the likely economic impact of standardised tobacco packaging prior to the announcement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, Jane Ellison, on 3 April (HC Deb, cols 1018–33) that such evidence would be published.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely crime implications of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging upon tobacco retailers.

Earl Howe: The Department received information through the 2012, Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products. This consultation attracted over 650,000 responses. A summary report of the consultation was published by the Department on 12 July 2013 and copies have already been placed in the Library.
	In addition, in 2013 the Department had a series of meetings with representatives of tobacco companies and the wider tobacco manufacturing industry to gain as much information as possible to elaborate the impact assessment.
	The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy. The Department will publish a further consultation-stage impact assessment with this consultation.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of standardised tobacco packaging on illicit trade.

Earl Howe: The Government continues to consider whether the introduction of standardised packaging would have an effect on the market for illicit tobacco. In the Department's 2012, Consultation on standardised packaging of tobacco products, consultation questions were asked about illicit tobacco. A consultation-stage impact assessment was also published with the consultation.
	In November 2013, Health Ministers asked Sir Cyril Chantler to undertake an independent review as to whether or not the introduction of standardised packaging of tobacco is likely to have an effect on public health, in particular in relation to children. Sir Cyril's report was published on 3 April 2014, and copies have already been placed in the Library.
	Sir Cyril included a chapter on illicit tobacco in his report, and made the following conclusion about illicit tobacco and standardised packaging:
	“I am not convinced by the tobacco industry's argument that standardised packaging would increase the illicit market, especially in counterfeit cigarettes. It seems to me that the solution to illicit use is instead to have an effective enforcement regime, and the enforcement agencies in the UK have already demonstrated that an effective enforcement regime and appropriate sanctions can keep illicit to low levels, even in a relatively high tax jurisdiction”.
	The Government continues to consider the impact of standardised packaging on illicit tobacco. The Government will be holding a final, short consultation in which Ministers will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy, including in relation to illicit tobacco.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with each of the devolved Administrations regarding the findings of the April 2014 Chantler report on standardised packaging of tobacco prior to the announcement made by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, Jane Ellison, on 3 April (HC Deb, cols 1018–33).

Earl Howe: Ministers and officials discuss tobacco control with their counterparts in the devolved Administrations on a regular basis and will continue to do so. These have included discussions about standardised tobacco packaging.
	On the same day that Sir Cyril Chantler’s report was published, my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health wrote to Health Ministers in the devolved Administrations to advise them of the publication.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Palmer: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely effects of the introduction of standardised packaging on tobacco consumption.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the likely effect of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging on the numbers of under-18s taking up smoking.

Earl Howe: In November 2013, Health Ministers asked Sir Cyril Chantler to conduct an independent review of the likely effect of standardised tobacco packaging on public health. Sir Cyril published his report on 3 April and it makes a compelling case that if standardised packaging were introduced it would be very likely to have a positive impact on public health and these benefits would include health benefits for children.
	The Government will hold a final, short consultation which will ask, in particular, for views on anything new since the last full public consultation that is relevant to the development of this policy. The department will publish a further consultation-stage impact assessment with this consultation.

Tobacco: Packaging

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish any correspondence received by the Department of Health from any police constabulary, including the Association of Chief Police Officers, relating to the likely impact of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish any correspondence received by the Department of Health from HM Revenue and Customs relating to the likely impact of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish any correspondence, including emails, to and from the Department of Health and HM Treasury relating to the likely impact of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging or the Chantler report.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish any correspondence, including emails, to and from the Department of Health and the Cabinet Office, including 10 Downing Street, relating to the likely impact of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging or the Chantler report.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to publish any correspondence, including emails, to and from the Department of Health and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills relating to the likely impact of the introduction of standardised tobacco packaging or the Chantler report.

Earl Howe: Standardised packaging of tobacco products is a policy that is still under consideration by the Government. As announced on 3 April, the Government is minded to proceed with this policy but will hold a final short consultation, which will seek any new information relevant to making a final decision on this policy. The Department has no plans to publish correspondence relating to standardised packaging.

Tourism

Lord Pendry: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Mr David Gauke MP, on 11 February (HC Deb, cols 212–4 WH), what steps are being taken to ensure that United Kingdom tourism remains competitive with other European Union countries, if there are no plans to reduce tourism VAT.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: VAT is a matter for the Chancellor and there are no current plans to reduce VAT. Nor does VAT determine the competitiveness of the UK tourism sector—which is ranked 5th in the world by the latest World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, The Government’s
	Tourism Policy supports the competitiveness of the industry. In the recent Budget, the Chancellor announced the two highest rates of Air Passenger Duty charged on long haul flights will be eliminated from 1st April 2015, cutting tax for millions of passengers travelling to and from key markets such as China and India. The Government’s Tourism Policy can be viewed at the following address:
	https://www.gov.uk/govemment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78416/Government2_Tourism_Policy_2011.pdf

Turkey

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the statement on 19 March by the President of Turkey that the internal peace process should be completed, by giving democratic rights and equal citizenship to the Kurdish people together with freedom for the press and other media.

Baroness Warsi: We welcome the comments made by President Gül regarding the Kurdish population in Turkey, which we assess as an important reaffirmation of the Turkish Government’s commitment to finding a sustainable solution to the Kurdish issue.
	We have been encouraged by the efforts on both sides to reach a solution and welcome the continuing ceasefire, as well as the President Gül’s approval of the democratisation package in March.

Ukraine and Russia: Money-laundering

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to instruct the various investigative and regulatory authorities to give priority to suspect deposits, in particular laundered money and investments, originating from Russia and Ukraine.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Government is committed to tackling money laundering and ensuring that the UK is a hostile place for the proceeds of corruption.
	Prior to EU sanctions being agreed, the Treasury contacted anti-money laundering supervisors suggesting that they emphasise the increased risk in relation to Ukraine to their firms and remind them of the need to have appropriate systems and controls for due diligence, ongoing monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions.
	It is not possible to comment on specific operational matters.

Ukraine and Russia: Money-laundering

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what amount of money, fraudulently, corruptly or criminally acquired and transferred to the United Kingdom from (1) Russia, and (2) Ukraine, has been frozen, confiscated or returned to its rightful owners, in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Serious and Organised Crime Strategy sets out our commitment to making the UK a hostile environment for money laundering. The information you have requested is not centrally held, but the UK has taken a leading role in responding to allegations of corruption in Ukraine, promptly implementing European Union sanctions against individuals identified as responsible for the misappropriation of state funds, and posting a multi-agency team, comprising the National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, and Crown Prosecution service, to Kiev to provide technical assistance and support to the Ukrainian authorities. All appropriate criminal justice and administrative routes to support the Ukrainian authorities are being pursued.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

Lord Astor of Hever: Yes, provided that the department accepts that it would be likely to be found liable if the claim were to be considered by a court.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they accept claims for hearing loss from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who served before 1986; and if not, why not.

Lord Astor of Hever: Section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 prevented service personnel, including former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment, from suing the Crown for alleged negligence which occurred before that section was repealed in 1987. The repeal was not retrospective. Depending on their level of hearing loss, they may, however, be eligible for a War Disablement Pension.

Ulster Defence Regiment

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many claims for hearing loss they have received from former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of the compensation paid to former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment who have made claims for hearing loss; and how many successful claims there have been to date.

Lord Astor of Hever: Claims for damages brought against the Ministry of Defence are not recorded in a manner that enables the specific regiment or unit of a claimant to be identified without incurring disproportionate cost. 10,148 such claims have been received in the last six years from current and former service personnel serving in Northern Ireland. Around 7,500 such claims have been successful to date, and the total value of compensation paid as a result has been around £62.3 million.

United Arab Emirates

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will request that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture visits the United Arab Emirates.

Baroness Warsi: The British Government supports the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and encourages an interactive dialogue with all states. Thus, the UK extends a “standing invitation” to all Special Rapporteurs and commits to full co-operation should they wish to visit. We encourage other states to do the same. At the same time, we respect the independence of Rapporteurs, so do not plan to request a specific visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Venezuela

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their evaluation of the situation in Venezuela as regards the rule of law, freedom of speech and the protection of human rights.

Baroness Warsi: Anti-government protests have been taking place in Caracas and other cities in Venezuela since early February. Around 40 people have died, and over 500 injured. About half the victims are anti-government protestors and the rest pro-government supporters, security forces and bystanders. More than 2,000 people have been detained in relation to the protests, although most have been released on parole.
	We are concerned by reports of excessive use of force in protests, and reports of armed groups using violence. We condemn all acts of violence and call on all sides to show restraint. It is important that the Venezuelan government respects the right to protest peacefully and freedom of speech, and ensures that those detained are afforded due process. We have called for all sides to avoid confrontation, reduce tensions and to create the right conditions for genuine dialogue to take place.
	The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), has written to the Venezuelan government emphasising the importance of respecting
	peaceful protest and the importance of dialogue taking place between the parties. He has offered the UK’s assistance in the reconciliation process and asked to speak to his Venezuelan opposite number. Our Embassy in Caracas urges peaceful dialogue through its contacts with a range of actors in Venezuelan society.

Voting: Young People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of young people registered to vote.

Lord Bates: The government has announced that five national organisations and all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain are sharing £4.2 million funding to promote voter registration among under-registered groups, which includes young people.
	The Cabinet Office has also written to electoral registration officers encouraging them to use this funding to support the delivery of Rock Enrol!, a learning resource which provides an opportunity for young people to register to vote and enables them to discuss the importance of doing so.

Voting: Young People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many 16 year-olds there are in the United Kingdom broken down by Parliamentary constituency; and how many 17 year-olds.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	Letter from Joe Grice, Director and Chief Economist for Office for National Statistics, to Baroness Royall, dated April 2014
	In the absence of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking Her Majesty’s Government how many 16 year-olds are in the United Kingdom, broken down by Parliamentary constituency; and how many 17 year-olds (HL6634).
	Table 1, gives the information requested. Mid-2012 is the latest year for which population estimates are available.
	A copy of the table has been provided to the Library of the House.

Voting: Young People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to promote voter registration in schools.

Lord Bates: The introduction of Individual Electoral Registration will enable online registration for the first time and will make the process of registering to vote more convenient for electors, including students.
	The new national curriculum for teaching from 2014 includes an improved programme of study for citizenship education. At key stage 4 pupils will be taught about democratic participation and how to influence decisions locally, nationally and beyond.
	The Cabinet Office has also made available Rock Enrol!; a free learning resource which not only provides an opportunity for young people to register to vote, but enables them to discuss the importance of doing so.

Voting: Young People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remark by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 5 February that “the last point is one that I will take back, as we are certainly considering how best to encourage all this” (HL Deb, col. 195), what steps have been taken towards enclosing electoral registration forms in their communications with young people, both on- and offline.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Funding has been provided to all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards to support maximising registration activities. Using these resources, the Electoral Commission’s planned public awareness campaign, the introduction of online registration, and the availability of the Rock Enrol! learning resource for young people, registering to vote will be more accessible and convenient for young people than ever before.

Wildlife: Illegal Trade

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government , following the recent conference in London, what support they are providing to the government of Botswana in preparing for the follow-up conference in early 2015 on the illegal wildlife trade.

Lord De Mauley: The Government welcomes the announcement made by the Government of Botswana that it will host a follow up conference on the illegal wildlife trade in early 2015. This meeting will be vital in helping to ensure that the commitments made at the London Conference in February 2014 are fully implemented.
	The Government has offered its full support to Botswana in preparing the meeting. This may include continuing to convene the group of senior officials that prepared the London Conference, offering the support of the UK’s diplomatic network in maintaining high level political engagement on the issue with existing and new partner countries and a possible contribution to the cost of the conference.

Wildlife: Illegal Trade

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what effect they expect that the recently announced Elephant Protection Initiative will have on the illegal wildlife trade; and what support they are giving to the Initiative.

Lord De Mauley: The Government warmly welcomes the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), launched at the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade in February 2014 by the Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.
	Through the EPI, these Governments are committing to:
	observing an extended moratorium on consideration of future international ivory tradeclosing domestic ivory marketsputting all ivory stockpiles (both seized ‘illegal’ and ‘legal’ ivory accrued from elephant mortality) beyond economic use.
	In response to these bold commitments, the EPI is intended to provide participating Governments with access to a fund to support the implementation of the measures contained in the Africa Elephant Action Plan. The UK Government has committed to supporting this fund, in the first instance by matching the first tranche of private sector funding amounting to around £1m.
	The text of the Elephant Protection Initiative can be accessed through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/decisive-action-agreed-on-illegal-wildlife-trade.

Wildlife: Ivory Trade

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are taking steps to encourage the governments of China and Vietnam to cease the trade in ivory.

Lord De Mauley: The Governments of both China and Vietnam participated at Ministerial level in the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade on 12 and 13 February 2014. They joined the other participating countries in agreeing to the London Conference Declaration. In this, Governments have committed to support the existing CITES commercial prohibition on international trade in elephant ivory until the survival of elephants in the wild is no longer threatened by poaching. They have also committed to taking a wide range of actions to reduce the demand for wildlife products, including ivory, and to agreeing for the first time to renounce the use of any products from species threatened with extinction. We very much welcome this strong signal by China and Vietnam of their commitment to join the rest of the international community in tackling the scourge of the illegal trade in ivory and other wildlife products.
	In the margins of the Conference I had constructive meetings with both Forestry Vice Minister Jianlong Zhang of China and Deputy Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Ha Cong Tuan of Vietnam to discuss the impacts of the illegal wildlife trade and the action needed to tackle the problem. I hope to visit Vietnam in the near future to continue this constructive dialogue.
	We will also fund two projects in Vietnam which applied through the 2013-2014 Darwin Initiative Funding Round, at a total cost of just over £0.5m. These will be supported from the £10m of new funding for tackling the illegal wildlife trade, announced on 23 December 2013 by the Secretaries of State for Environment and International Development. One project is focused on combating wildlife trafficking by cutting out the ‘middle man’. The other will support action to reduce demand for rhino horn.

Women: Involvement in Government

Baroness Prosser: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many meetings or round-tables with Ministers have been held, and how many organisations have been involved, in connection with the outreach programme promised in their November 2011 consultation response Strengthening women's voices in Government.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: Between October 2011 and 8 April 2014 there have been 25 ministerial roundtable meetings. There have also been regular bi-lateral meetings, 1:1s, workshops, events and working groups for the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) preparations.
	Since the inception of the Women’s Engagement programme, Ministers and officials have met with over 150 individual women and women’s organisations.

Women: Involvement in Government

Baroness Prosser: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Ministers have undertaken outreach events in connection with the consultation response Strengthening women's voices in Government; in how many events each Minister has been involved; what is their assessment of the impacts of such outreach events; and what follow-up action has taken place.

Baroness Northover: Five Women and Equalities Ministers have taken part in the women’s engagement programme since it started in 2011. This includes:
	Lynne Featherstone MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities from May 2010 to September 2012, who undertook five roundtables;Maria Miller MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for Women and Equalities, who undertook six roundtables;Jo Swinson MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (shared with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills), who has undertaken nine roundtables to date; Helen Grant MP, Minister for Sport, Tourism and Equalities and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, who has undertaken four roundtables to date; andJenny Willott MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (shared with the Department for Business Innovation and Skills), who has undertaken one roundtable to date.
	Additionally, Ministers also held and took part in a wide range of meetings, conferences and numerous speaking engagements with women. Consultation also occurs across government on a range of policy areas including violence against women and girls. Events and roundtables are not assessed on an individual basis and follow-up actions for these events are taken forward by the Ministers for Women and Equalities as appropriate; this may include writing to or meeting Ministers in other departments, either one-to-one or at inter-ministerial groups.

Women: Involvement in Government

Baroness Prosser: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the priorities of the Women's Engagement outreach programme for 2014–15 in connection with the consultation response Strengthening women's voices in Government.

Baroness Northover: The women’s engagement programme will continue to focus on the priorities identified in the Strengthening women’s voices in Government document published in November 2011. Ministers have committed to continue the roundtable programme in 2014 and several roundtables have already taken place. We have recently launched a Twitter account, @DCMS-Women, to provide an additional channel for direct engagement between individual women, the women’s sector and policy officials. We also plan to develop the women’s engagement website pages on GOV.UK to include more information about the programme and will publish an evaluation of the programme shortly.

Women’s Engagement Newsletter

Baroness Prosser: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many copies of the Women's Engagement newsletter have been produced since 2011; what was the reach and circulation; whether an evaluation has been made of the value of the work; and, if so, what were the results.

Baroness Northover: The Women’s Engagement newsletter was produced quarterly in 2011/12 and in 2013 its distribution increased to bi-monthly. From May 2011 to December 2012, 10 newsletters were published. In 2013, six newsletters were published.
	To date, there are approximately 2,200 individuals and organisations signed up to receive the newsletter and we know that a number of organisations disseminate the newsletter throughout their membership. Subscribers to the newsletter include some of the largest women's organisations, such as the Women’s Institute, which has a membership of over 212,000.
	A reader survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2013 and we will publish the results shortly. The headline responses show that:
	83% of respondents liked the new design of the newsletter and 94% found it easy to navigate and read;65% of responders felt the frequency of the publication was about right;readers were most likely to read articles about employment (76%), violence against women and girls (70%) and women in enterprise (67%); and most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that newsletter provided them with relevant information (66%).

Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Baroness Golding: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their announcement on 11 June 2013 of plans to establish pilot schemes under section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in Liverpool, Leeds and Kingston-upon-Thames, whether they have drawn any conclusions from those pilot schemes; if so, what are those conclusions; what plans they have for change on the basis of those conclusions; and when a formal announcement will be made.

Lord Faulks: The Ministry of Justice started piloting Section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 in Leeds, Liverpool and Kingston-upon-Thames on 30 December, with the identification of suitable cases by the police for the measure.
	The first recorded pre-trial cross-examinations have started and will run until October 2014, followed by an evaluation period to assess the effectiveness and success of the pilot before decisions on how best to implement the measure more widely will be made.